Solitary Mask
by Chibi Tsuki
Summary: -Part One- Kurama transfers to a new school and learns the rumours about the masked girl. Everyone tells him to stay away from her, but Kurama can't help but feel sympathetic towards her. :part 1 completed: fixed ch 15, nothing really new
1. Abnormal Differences

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: __This is my first YYH ficcie – I hope you people like it! Btw thoughts, written in italics are often of the main characters. Btw, this is set after YYH, but I decided to shorten Yuusuke's time in Makai a bit, so Kurama's 17 and in Senior High, supposedly around Year 11._**

Chapter 1

Abnormal Differences

The moon illuminated the outline of a peculiar figure, who sat alone on the rock, facing towards the sea. Howling and roaring, the waves below crashed harshly against the cliff side, only to be forced backwards, into the large watery mass again. But nothing stirred this lonesome character, not even the fiercest of winds or the wildest clashing of water. The solitary warrior continued to gaze at the moon, the small celestial body emitting soft blue rays of comfit. Oh, how the Earth's moon glowed as brilliantly as the one at home, if only one could return home. A sudden howl boomed over the voice of the wind and water. Only towards this did the character stir the slightest bit. It was too subtle to be noticed easily. The isolated wolf howled again, yearning for its brothers and sisters to let it belong to a pack once again, but this was not to be. Once abandoned, the lonesome wolf will have to either find itself a mate or live forever in solitary. 

_May you find your dreams brother wolf…_

~*~*~*~

Flowing red hair blew frantically in the air as the wind lifted up skirts. Kurama, using this chance, escaped from the crowd to the side of a school building. He panted noiselessly, his hands gripping his knees as the search for him began. A glimpse of light-coloured hair caught his attention but when looked up, he could see no one. For a second, he was thinking deeply but slapped himself mentally, knowing that there was something he had to do; escape if that was how you put it. _Run Kurama! What are you doing just standing there?! Move it!_

The handsome youth wasted no more time and left hurriedly in pursuit for his classroom. It was rather surprising that the girls followed him around like a flock of baby chicks after the mother hen. Obviously no one had warned him. The girls at this school were just as crazy as ones in his last school, Mieou High. He fled for the safety of his classroom once the coast was clear and shut the door behind him, his pulse pounding rapidly. Scanning around the empty room, he found a strange person looking out of the window as if Kurama hadn't made a single sound. Supposedly this classmate was a girl, wait! Of course she was a girl; she was wearing the navy blue and white sailor suit-like uniform and the matching pleated navy blue skirt that reached an inch or two above her knees. What appealed to him most was the white blonde hair. It was so light that it would've been mistaken as white. Quietly Kurama selected a seat and placed his black strap bag down on the desk. Being only two rows away, the teenager noticed that the girl actually had silvery hair, he had been positive that it was blonde before but now it was of an unexpected colour. With her back towards him Kurama was unable to see her face but he was neither curious nor tempted to peek.  Chivalrous Kurama broke the unbelievably long silence, greeting the girl by the window, "Hello miss, my name is Minamino Shuuichi.  I only transferred to this school yesterday." The girl stayed silent and Kurama respected the girl's silence and made no further attempt to stir up the conversation until the girl finally spoke up,

"If names matter to you, my name is Tsukishiro Mikazuki." Her gentle, soft voice held a tone of melancholy and loneliness, Kurama reacted subtly to this but the girl caught his body's silent gesture. He was sympathetic towards her, it was as if he had felt these emotions before. Heading towards her, he offered his hand to her but she merely turned her head back to the outside world again. "Shuuichi, don't get yourself involved with unwanted gossip by talking to me. It will merely give you a bad reputation, especially the male students since the girls have been swamping around you this morning. The guys will seize advantage from this and send bad rumours around about you."

Kurama looked away, slightly confused and uncertain, "What do you mean by that?" Mikazuki sighed and turned to face him, startling him slightly. Then he knotted his eyebrows. "I don't see why the others will gossip about me talking to you. The only difference between you, me and the other students is that you're wearing a mask."

His classmate smiled physically, but her eyes didn't shine with the slightest happiness at all. He could see her smile because of the mask's flexibility even though the mask layered over her entire face and hinted no beauty. Even her eyes weren't visible, only its shape and outline showed where it was. For a while Kurama wondered how this girl could breathe and see, nevertheless speak clearly.   
You see, everyone is afraid of abnormality, meaning that they're afraid of me." The girl sighed subtly as the red-haired youth continued to stand, deep in thinking. That was until the door opened, revealing two male students wearing the same uniform as him. "Hey, you're the new student right? We've heard a lot about you and your grades," the taller dark-haired youth uttered, panting with widened eyes. Kurama nodded and strode towards them, the shorter boy gesturing for him to move faster. When the teen reached the puffed out pair, they jerked him out of the room, slamming the door shut. "Hey," the shorted one spoke softly, "never enter the room by yourself when the girl's the one inside." Beside him, his friend was nodding furiously. "I've heard that she has a really bad temper and she's very, very, very ugly. Don't approach her or even talk to her!" _Ugly?__ How do you know that's she's ugly without having seen her face once before?_

He glanced through the window by just tilting his head and saw the girl. She had resumed to her position, leaning her body against the window sill. "By the way, is your name Minamino Shuuichi?" the shorter one questioned, admiring his tall frame and well built body.

"Yes," Kurama admitted as he combed some of his hair with his fingers, feeling a sweat drop slide down his neck.

"Wow, how'd you build up such a strong figure like yours?" the shorted boy continued amazing himself while the taller student started conversing with Kurama about his academic achievements. Stepping onto his back foot, Kurama excused himself politely and walked down the corridor until he realised his mistake. But luckily class was starting and he soon found himself back in the classroom. 

~*~*~*~

Lunch break was only several minutes away and … _several minutes away from torture Kurama groaned softly as the thoughts of a quiet peaceful chat with some new friends was torture. He continued to sit up straight, sometimes leaning on his palm when he was tired of listening to the teacher teach the units of the study he had already learnt. _

"Class dismissed," the Mathematics teacher announced, once the bell rung, loudly and clearly.

Standing up, Kurama found himself instantly crowded by the other girls once again. "Excuse me ladies," he uttered, trying to squeeze through the crowd. He resulted to the old and well used, "Ladies, look at the sky, isn't it such a beautiful and romantic crimson red?" It was such a cliché, but it had effect on the girls. They turned and he fled, crawling under the table whilst grabbing his bag. He crawled towards the door and staggered to get onto his feet, falling out at the same time. When he arrived at the canteen, it was the same as being in the classroom, the situation was the same everywhere. Why did all these girls admire him like some superstar? Trying to find some peace during lunch seemed quite impossible because all the female students kept piling repetitive questions on him, 

"Have you had a girlfriend before?"

"Do you currently have a girlfriend?"

"Are you busy this weekend?"

He was sick of them already and tried to find some way to ditch them. "Hey, Shuuichi!" a familiar voice yelled over the squealing females. "I see that you're rather occupied there, shall I speak to you at a later time or do I need to make an appointment?" 

Kurama glanced up and noticed the bubbly girl with the long sky blue hair. "Excuse me," he said politely, gripping his lunch with him in one hand while he tried to go through the crowd. Finally when he had managed to get the girls off him, he scrambled towards the speaker. "Botan, it's been a while since we've last seen."

The girl wearing the school's uniform gained quite a lot of attention and jealousy. "It has hasn't it? I've got a message for you," she replied in her soft sweet voice. Together the two started walking nowhere in particular but they were followed by a crowd back in some distance. "Everything in Reikei has been settled so there shouldn't be a problem, not for now anyway so you can relax for a while."

"That's good," Kurama murmured. A sudden smile lit on his handsome face. "Hey Botan, I heard that you and Koenma got together." He winked at her when her face began to blush furiously, it had turned into a dark pink colour, overlapping her pale skin colour. Since when was Kurama so well informed? She had only started going out with him a week ago and it seemed as if the whole world knew.

"How did you know?" she exclaimed, unable to keep her voice down.

"It was well, quite predictable." His calm cheerful smile always irritated her at such situations, not that she usually had such an outbreak of uncontrollable embarrassment, well not often while they were in public anyway. She quietened when she noticed everyone eyeing her, her face turning into an even brighter coloured red.

Botan glanced around, her big pink eyes following her gaze. "I'm leaving now Kura- Shuuichi." Running away, Botan left Kurama, smirking.  

Once the girl was gone, Kurama rushed off while his little fan club stood completely dazed. _Perhaps a tree would be a better place to sit since people can't see me as well as they can spot me in the middle of the small grass field. He searched the open area for a suitable place to sit. Some of the trees didn't seem to be comfortable since the branches were too close together. It seemed as if it was impossible to find a good spot. For a short time now, Kurama had been still in search of his tree, until he noticed a sturdy tree, its trunk thick and solid and the branches seemed to be the right height. His head turned from left to right and back left again, making sure no one saw him perform his little stunt and jumped onto one of the lower branches before leaping off it again to one that was shaded quite well by tree leaves. He had to admit that it did conceal him quite well although his stunning red hair was rather easy to spy. With his lunch in his hand and his back against the main body of the tree, he relaxed and settled in like a possum into its home. Suddenly he felt a wavering ki stir above him somewhere and looked upwards. Something or to be more exact, someone was sitting on the branch several metres higher. Instinctively Kurama looked back down, blushing slightly. A girl was up there staring into the vacant sky where the moon would be when day rotated into night. Although he couldn't see her underpants, he still continued to look downwards. _

Maybe she hadn't noticed him and he could leave the tree without disturbing her. But his attempt to leave woke her from her trance and the girl simply turned her head to look down at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look up your skirt..." The girl turned her head away again, to gaze at the sky once again. It was the girl he had met earlier that morning, the girl called Tsukishiro Mikazuki. "Hey Mikazuki." Kurama's voice had changed back into the sweet and steady tone again. Why was this girl so… silent? She never gave any opinions or dramatic reactions, unlike the majority of the school's female population, especially when there were people around her. Still silent… there was no sound, only the soft beating of their hearts and the light breathing. Once or twice Kurama tried to stir up a conversation but to his disappointment, she didn't reply. 

~*~*~*~

Kurama entered class, the girl following far behind looking right at his back. People around her started jeering, pointing and whispering to themselves but the boy couldn't help but feel sorry but the girl seemed to have paid no attention to their loud whispers. He stepped into his next class; the science laboratory and sighed softly. Although he really loved science lessons, today he didn't really feel that excited even if it was his first lesson. Later, the masked girl appeared at the door and glanced around for vacant seats. Everyone stopped chatting and glanced at her, ignoring the teacher as he stepped in. They were just looking at her, slightly jittery but Kurama noticed no sympathy in their eyes. They quickly stuffed their bags on the surrounding tables as if to suggest to her that it was 'saved' for their friend. No one wanted her to be near, not even the teacher who had tried to keep his face from twisting into an uncertain and distressed look. Kurama was going to offer the poor girl a seat beside him but his neighbours shook their head at him, not wanting the 'innocent' to be part of the rumours and gossip. Finding a seat at the back corner of the science laboratory, Mikazuki quietly placed her bag on the desk, eyes averting to her every move. 

_This was insane. Kurama sighed and felt slightly useless that he wasn't able to help her, all he could do was sympathise this poor lonely creature. _

Throughout the science lesson, Kurama couldn't stop thinking about Mikazuki, why didn't the others treat her the same way as they did each other? Even the teachers were prejudice against her although they didn't hurl insults or anything, only show signs of their nervousness towards the girl. "Hey Shuuichi," the girl beside him whispered, her long flowing chocolate brown hair curled and tinted in a light chestnut brown, "be aware of that Tsukishiro Mikazuki. She's rather hideous and ill-tempered, you don't want yourself involved with her. Besides, I've heard that she owns a wolf at her house. Apparently several girls passed her home and saw a wolf in the garden-"

"Kinae Yuki, please be quiet," the teacher boomed, looking at the girl with guilty face. The teacher continued rattling on, dictating notes while pacing from left to right at the front of the classroom, holding some notes in his right hand. His pacing was hypnotising Kurama to sleep but he didn't let himself show any signs of boredom or else the others would think that he was just another nerd who was to proud to look at others.  

~*~*~*~

At last, the day had ended, the slow progressing pace of day had gone past. The golden face continued its daily procedure, to set behind the earth and down again, until it had fully fallen behind the horizon line. He strode out of the school gates, two shadowy figures running after him, yelling him human name. It was then did Kurama recognize them as the boys he had met earlier that morning. "Hey Shuuichi!" they greeted him pleasantly, introducing their names to him which they had forgotten to do earlier than morning. 

****

**_A/N: __I hope you people liked this ficcie, it's the first time I've written a YYH ficcie. I thought that I'd give Kurama some girl because he seemed rather lonely in the story. I also based it on prejudice because that's the topic we're doing rite now. If anyone has ever watched Saint Seiya, it's one of those masks the female Saints wear._**

**_Disclaimer: __I don't own YYH or any of its characters only Mikazuki and the miscellaneous characters._**


	2. Beginning of Friendship?

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki 

**_A/N: __I'm so happy that someone likes my story. *wipes away tears* I didn't think that anyone would read it but thanks a lot readers! You've kept my spirits up. If I don't manage to update within a short period of time because it takes a while for me to finish a chapter since I also have school and other story chapters to complete. By the way, if you want to be updated on new chapters, please leave your email and I'll send you an email. _**

Chapter 2

Beginning of Friendship?

Kurama, asked to hand out the bottles of acid to each paired group, lowered the individual bottles onto the benches with care. Each bench was a working place for two pairs, so there were four to a bench. In an entire class of twenty-two, now that they had an extra classmate, there were twelve benches, with a bench singled out in the corner so it could only hold one working pair. Everyone called it 'the corner' because the bench was rather cramped and didn't serve as a place convenient while conducting experiments since half of the time, the students bumped into the wall, spilling dangerous contents onto the floor. There had been another reason for the name because it was rather isolated from the other benches.

Placing the bottle on the sad, gloomy desk where there was obviously evidence that someone was using the bench and walked off, distributing the acid to others. 

Since the other students had partners for the experiments, Kurama instinctively strode towards Mikazuki. That was until Raku, his newly met friend pulled him aside and urged Kurama to join him and Jobi. "Stick with us Shuichi," the taller boy, Raku advised in a firm voice.

"How long does it take for us to get this to your head Shuichi? That girl means trouble and no one goes looking for trouble," Jobi whispered trying to reach the red-haired boy's ear, with slight difficulty. 

Reluctantly, Shuichi gave him a smile and worked with the pair, often glancing towards the lonesome character. 

~*~*~*~

Panting the girl woke up from her daydream, the sun blaring at her between the leaves. What was this dream she was having? What did it have to do with Youko Kurama, the famed thief of Makai? Surely her hidden life wouldn't have anything, none whatsoever to do with the kitsune. Mikazuki took deep breaths, bringing up a hand to obscure the sunlight. _Why won't he just leave me alone? There was plenty of time until lunch ended, perhaps a wash of the face would do her good. With fast speed, the girl slipped out of the tree and headed towards the bubblers. Everyone seemed to have decided to stay in the safety of shaded areas, away from the humidity and heat of the sun. When she reached the water supply just hidden from the sun by a brick wall she placed a hand over the dreaded mask and it fell off onto her hand. Water definitely was the way to go, but it would've been much better if she didn't have to do this. If anyone saw her facial features it would only cause more problems within the school, something that she didn't particularly want to involve herself in. It was a rather foolish idea to do so. Sleeves patted the soaked face dry, the mask slipped back on, concealing the unknown face once again. The mask served as a wall that allowed her safety behind it. Others couldn't see her or know how she felt but she could see everything around her. Trudging warily into an air-conditioned building she sighed with pleasure as the cool air tickled the back of her neck. Her hair swayed gently in the same momentum as her fast pace. _

Staring at this mysterious character from a particular distance away, the young gentleman was ushered along. "Come on Shuichi, we'll take you to the D and T area, it's quite big there," Jobi uttered, walking freely as always, his cheeky grin showed cheeriness within him. 

Suddenly Kurama halted and said to them, "I've forgotten my exercise book, you two better go to your classes. I'll find my way there." He turned around and started running, smiling all the time. Alone with her books in one hand, Mikazuki walked with her head bowing the entire time until the red-haired boy she remembered from yesterday brushed past her deliberately, stealthily slipping a piece of folded paper into her freehand. "Sorry," he whispered as moved on. Clutching the note, she stuffed it in between several sheet of papers and continued walking on normally. Kurama glanced backwards and smirked when the girl decided to keep it. 

Opening the note, the girl took a quick glance at the short message and scrunched up the piece of paper as the teacher approached. "What is that? A note?" the teacher snapped, glaring ungracefully at her. This female teacher was definitely born from the side of the furious and frightening side of town. She was the only staff within the school who was brave enough to treat Mikazuki like the others and the girl actually didn't mind her for that. Instead of taking it a bad way, Mikazuki was glad to secretly feel as if she belonged, even if it was a split second that would instantly vanish afterwards. Kaji sensei snatched the scrunched up paper from the girl's hand and smoothed it out, reading the message with raised eyebrows. Bending down she whispered to the girl, "Who is it?"

Clearly the woman couldn't hear the subtle moan. "I only found this note on my desk." Her voice was quiet and boring, and so there was no possibility of betraying herself. The woman removed herself from the table and continued the lesson, waving her hand as she spoke. Instead of listening to the teacher ramble on, Mikazuki continued thinking whether to talk to the boy. No, teenager; Shuichi. There was no need in getting him involved in anything in anyway. 

~*~*~*~

The sky was turning dark, rays of sunlight no longer peeked between the clouds. Presently, the school was rather quiet now, most of the students had left the school already since they had no afternoon activities to attend. Kurama waited patiently near the tennis courts, somehow knowing that she would turn up. The silent figure leaned against tree, wondering to himself why this girl had attracted him to her so much. It wasn't physical beauty or her intelligence in anyway, it was something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Slowly the earth rotated, making the moon seem to have changed positions. Footsteps alerted him and he pushed against the tree lightly so that his two legs now supported him. "Hello Mikazuki," he greeted, approaching the shadowy figure, even though she was still several steps away from him, he could still sense her ki and it had confirmed to him that she was the one. 

"How did you know it was me?" Mikazuki stepped forward, her glossy silver hair standing out in the night. 

"I don't know, I just felt that it was you," Kurama replied, trying not to let sleep get over him. She shrugged, as if to say 'fair enough' and seated down on the cold surfaced steps that led to the tennis court. The teenager walked towards her and stood a short distance away. "I was wondering whether you wanted to be friends."

Ironically, the girl smirked, portraying a bitter expression to the silent night. Letting out a sigh she mumbled, "Leave me alone, it's better that way."

"I'm not a person who leaves someone to be isolated after each day."

"To tell you the truth, I've changed because everything around me has changed. Humans are prejudice against those who are different, there's no point in making friends with someone who'll be forever afraid of your deepest secrets when you want to be truthful to them."

"Different? To me there's no difference between us," Kurama's voice tinged with hope and honesty. Turning her head around to look up at the teenager, Mikazuki's eyes widened. Behind him the moon shone as brilliantly as ever, but this was not why she was startled. Something had struck her. The moon's silvery white beams reflected off Kurama's long dreamy hair, kissing his features with the smooth and pure colour. She had seen an image much alike the scene she witnessed now, except he had eyes and stood taller, with a broader frame. "Is something wrong Mikazuki?" Kurama noticed the tension in her body when she flinched at the sound of his tender voice. 

Her eyes lowered, just like her face and shook her head, "Nothing's wrong. You just reminded me of someone from a dream." Why was she talking about her personal stuff to him? But something about him gave her a warm feeling around this peculiar character, she just had a feeling that she could trust him. "I'll see you later," she uttered, placing her hands on her bare knees as she stood up, lifting up the black strap bag up beside her. 

"Shall I take you home? It's rather late, it's not safe to be walking home by yourself," he seemed fairly persistent to take her home but didn't push it when his classmate kindly rejected the offer, saying that she didn't live far from the school. They exited the school grounds together, walking together for some time, both unsure why the other was still there. "So where do you live?" Kurama asked in curiosity, keeping his calm and casual tone.

"A few streets away from here," she replied and readjusted her bag strap. "Well I'll be turning off here, I'll see you tomorrow." Without waiting for him to say anything, she left, picking up speed as she walked.

Swiping a hand across her unmasked face, she stepped into the empty house, changing from shoes to slippers. Mikazuki dumped her bag and books on the kitchen table and gathered some ingredients for a simple dinner for herself. This happened nightly; she lived with no one, no parents, no friends, only herself. This was a lonely world for her, it never was like this until she came here and entered this world.

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: __Sorry about the short chapter! I kinda had a writer's block and I don't know how to finish the rest of the chapter, so I just decided not to keep you waiting. If the next chapter comes out late, please forgive me because I'm having yearly exams and I usually take a while just to type out the next chapter. Ja ne!_**


	3. Rumours Awake

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N:__ Thank you so much for the reviews! I really loved reading them ^.^ *goes teary in the eyes* By the way, I'm so sorry about the last chapter, there were quite a few mistakes. I didn't know what type of demon she should be and I had to relate it to the beginning scene of the story so yeah… I'm sorry, but it's not a kitsune, although I don't mind but it'll make the story really boring. By the way, I continued to use the Japanese way of addressing someone with their full name; the surname first and then their given name. The next chapter will also be out slightly late._**

Chapter 3

Rumours Awake

The girl woke up with a jolt, panting while sweat trickling down her face. Her T-shirt, serving as a pyjama top was thoroughly soaked. She padded to the bathroom and grabbed a wet face cloth to wipe her face, slowly she lifting her head to look into the mirror, a mere reflection of her self, but was it her true self? It didn't seem so. A sigh was released and she entered her room once again, changing into a clean T-shirt, the saturated one dumped unceremoniously on the bedroom floor. Again, she fell back into her soft comfy bed but a part of her mind told her that she wanted to go somewhere, away from the city, to be with nature instead. There was an eerie glow and a form of a wolf appeared, faint grey and white colours swirling through its mane, with gentle streaks of silvery white in its coat. It donned a strange silver chest-plate, with delicate carvings, and the end of the metal armour, reaching the shoulder blades, were split pieces of metal. However you looked at this wolf, even without its armour, one would realise that it was definitely anything but ordinary since it had pointy ears, longer than normal and eyes of a mystical blue. This wasn't a real wolf, born like those canines in the wild; it was a B-class demon from Makai, nothing really strong compared to the higher ranked youkai in the world, but it wasn't harmless either. 

The wolf leapt out of the open window, picking its track carefully to avoid stepping on smaller insects and plants. It would've released a howl if it wasn't within a suburban area. Rough paw pads scraped against the rocky track as it made its way out of the city, running swiftly with its vivid scent waffling subtly around the atmosphere, alerting other territorial canines. Nevertheless, it continued onwards until it reached the cliff edge, looking down at a watery grave below, the wind bellowing like a dying cow. As round and full as it can be, the moon shone brightly, illuminating the cliff's jagged edge. This was the place to be for a wolf, any type of wolf, above the water with the moon emitting beautiful rays, waiting for a howl to set its scene.

Brushing his teeth lazily, the younger teenager of sixteen yawned, toothpaste splattering onto the mirror. He continued to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth while trying to rub the mirror with his sleeve. Without success, he decided to give up and just give in to some needed sleep, especially since school was rather tedious for him although he had only attended class twice this week; a habit he could not dismiss. The boy settled quickly into his futon and yawned again. Abruptly, he could sense a flash of unfamiliar youki, but because of its relatively low force, he could not bring himself to chase after it especially since it had disappeared so fast. Perhaps he would mention it when he saw Kuwabara or Kurama the next time.  __

~*~*~*~

Hurriedly darting along the school corridors, Mikazuki hugged onto her bag, avoiding people so that she would not bang into anyong. Her mask hung on tightly to her skin while she ran, clinging like glue. A sudden slip and she went crashing into another student. Papers and books flew in different directions, a curse following the scene. "Watch where you're going!" the victim growled, picking himself up while others behind him sniggered, laughing at their mate's unlucky fall. Slowly, the girl lifted her bowed head up and cast them a glare, not knowing that a tiny fraction of her mask had peeled off, due to the moisture and sweat on her face. They gaped and walked off quietly. With no further delay, she managed to find her classroom and settle calmly in the barriers of her isolation. She laid her head against her fist and closed her eyes, wanting to drift off into sleep since no one would realise whether she was awake or not under her mask. The truth was that she had spent an entire night and morning, watching the moon and sitting in the presence of the moonlight and water and so she slept, making it feel like a short period of time before the bell rang to announce the end of the first class in the morning. Mikazuki ran her fingers through her bangs sub-consciously, something she often did when she had just been woken up. Her hand fell on her bag and books and she reluctantly left the room, following far behind the crowd. 

"What do you mean you saw Tsukishiro Mikazuki's face?" a boy from a gathered crowd demanded curiously but softly in a quiet whisper. 

The boy who had previously bumped into Mikazuki raised his eyebrows cheekily and grinned, "She crashed into me and then I yelled at her. I noticed that her mask had been peeled off quite a bit." His exaggeration made the entire situation seem more 'exciting'. 

"Was she pretty?" another asked, leaning over his friends to be part of the group.

 "Pretty? If she were pretty, then pigs will fly and so will cows!" Of course, this rumour continued to spread like a locust plague; a game of Chinese whispers. 

Jobi whistled surprisedly with raised eyebrows at the information he had just gathered and made his way towards his small group of friends, smiling triumphantly. "Guess what I heard just then." The group turned their attention on him, knowing that he had just found something interesting out by the smug look on his face. Realising that he had caught their attention, the short black-haired teen spoke on. "Apparently Muiro Teki saw Tsukishiro's appearance." Kurama listened intently and waited for his friend to continue. "She was running to class and ran smack bang into him. The girl fell and he cursed at her and that was when he saw her face; her mask had basically been peeled off altogether."

Raku interrupted him excitedly, "What did he say she looked like?" 

"Absolutely hideous! No wonder she can't walk around without a mask and to think we thought that she was some I-want-to-be-mysterious person." Something about what Jobi had said made Kurama feel that it wasn't right and that was not the reason as to why she wore a mask. Instead, he felt that there was a much deeper meaning to the mask, one that hid her real feelings. He smacked himself mentally. _Since when did I become a psychiatrist? "The others in Muiro's group saw her too. They said that she had a burn across her face-"_

"Go to class!" the teacher behind them boomed, hurrying the gossiping teens along, obviously irritated since this was not the second or third group he had to yell at. Laughing, the students scurried off, disappearing into classrooms. For the rest of the lessons up until lunch, everyone was staring and looking at her, whispering like always. Mikazuki didn't mind nor did she care; let them think what they want to think. 

The teacher had left the classroom in a hurry for lunch, the students left behind to file out of the classroom. Tired and sick of all her classmate's constant blabbering, Mikazuki picked up her speed and left the room of students in hope of finding peace a preferably silence, if that was possible. Actually, it was _impossible not that anyone would care. The weather was again hot and moist, not to mention sticky, but this time she could easily withstand the heat. Not needing to rely on tap water, now that she had rested enough to regain some strength. "Hey Mikazuki," Kurama greeted while ascending swiftly from one tree branch to another. Merely glancing at him in response, she turned away again, resting against the thick wall of bark. He shifted himself so that he was slightly closer to her, but a respectable distance away. "I was thinking over it last night, what do you mean by 'humans are prejudice'?" _

She relaxed slightly now that she knew his purpose for approaching her and replied in her cold smooth voice, "They look at each other's difference and judge themselves, although they don't even know any part of the real truth."

"The real truth?" Kurama repeated, his curiosity deepening. Without showing his eagerness of wanting to know more, he encouraged the girl to expand in her words by waiting patiently, his gentle, soothing eyes catching hers. 

But instead she dismissed the topic by speaking about the rumour. "Why are you still talking to me even though you've heard what they have said about me? I suppose it is true, I'm no elegant and dazzling lady. Nor does my scar represent beauty." Her voice had lowered to a barely audible whisper.

"Beauty does not matter. I don't mind your appearance, even if you are as they say, besides it was only a rumour. I don't know what you look like until I see for myself but I trust that you are as beautiful as a butterfly." For once she giggled and looked up at him with something that seemed to be a genuine smile. 

"You really are a charmer Minamino Shuuichi, no wonder the girls are all trying to get your attention but instead you talk to someone as unimportant and rejected as me."

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" he grinned cheerily, unable to stop smiling.

"To tell you the truth, the only thing about you that I can say positively about is that you're a true friend. The rest of it, I'm still unsure. Now leave me in peace," she instantly turned away, afraid of displaying her current emotions to him; something which she had dreaded.

"Does that mean that we're friends?" He waited for her nod and happily left, knowing that he had been able to make a new friend and help this girl overcome her isolation.

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: __I hope you liked this chapter, I didn't want to drag the beginning too much. I'm wondering whether I should give Mikazuki a form like Kurama's Youko form. But I don't really know because it seems a bit too… (I don't know how to describe it but I hope you get what I mean ^.^;;)_**

_Disclaimer: Dun own nefink, not even the only copy of YYH manga I bought…_


	4. Underneath the Mask

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: __A late update__ this time but I hope I still have readers. I was starting to think whether there were actually wolves in __Japan__ but when I found out that they basically lived in all climates and anywhere, I was rather relieved. _**

Chapter 4

Underneath the Mask

Trudging back home pass the park, Mikazuki sighed and seated herself on the swing, leaving her bag half buried in sand. The park was quiet, especially since the sky was darkening every minute but she started to swing herself instead as the orange-red sun rays slapped over her body, casting a tall shadow behind her. The swing squeaked due to the lack of oil and possibly because of the peeling paint. A boy no older than eight raced up to her and grinned cheerily before hopping on the empty swing beside her. His brown hair ruffled in the air while he laughed with pure delight. After a while he hopped off, waving a gesture of good-bye to Mikazuki and dashed off again yelling to his mother with that merry tone in his childish voice. 

_I guess I better leave too. Once she acknowledged the time, the light-haired teenager scooped up her bag and headed back towards the street until she heard a threatening shout and a cry of despair. Startled, she ran over to the scene and noticed the boy trembling over his mother's fallen body. In front of his stood a well-muscled man in dark clothes, a menacing grin on his face. Mikazuki felt a gush of disgust flow through her veins as she dropped her bag a few metres away from boy while hurrying. "Lay off!" she shouted, standing in front of the mother and son protectively with her arms spread wide in one hundred and eighty degrees. The man merely sniggered and brought his right hand to swat at her which had caused a greater impact than she had expected. She groaned and rubbed her sore cheek to realise that her mask had a tear through it, the opposite side to which her scar was. The tear fell from just under her left eye downwards just horizontal to her mouth, revealing her skin. _

"Come with me kid," the man said in his dark sickening voice. He stretched his hand towards the boy as the child backed up, hiding behind his mother. Mikazuki noticed that the woman was somewhat injured and she stood on her feet once again, without bothering to brush her skirt and blouse. A swift movement and she had knocked the man down with a flying kick on his head, knocking him harshly against the ground and fortunately unconscious. After she had made sure he had blacked out, she attended the woman and helped her up, asking whether she knew who the man was but the woman merely shook her head and thanked the school girl gratefully. 

Mikazuki uttered, "You better ring the police and get him questioned before he does any more harm ma'am." The woman smiled again and sat down on a park bench while they waited for the police to come. Uncertain, Mikazuki decided that it would be better if she stayed to make sure that the man didn't wake up before the police came, leaving when she heard the police siren. She wasn't going to be any witness, nor did she want to involve herself in something unnecessary. 

~*~*~*~

When she arrived home, Mikazuki sighed and dumped her bag on the petite kitchen table, walking straight to her room to change. Her skirt and blouse, although slightly dirty would definitely be in good condition after a wash but her mask was another problem. The torn area had increased from when if first broke and there was no possibility of it being fixed easily. There wasn't any replacement either, especially since she had school tomorrow. She sighed again and slumped onto the couch in the small lounge room. _What's for dinner? Unfortunately the fridge was basically empty because she didn't have any time to go to the supermarket, not that she had much to spend anyway. Perhaps the cupboard wasn't and so she peeked into it, finding a week's worth of rice lying uncooked against the wall and so she pulled it out, washing it before turning on the rice cooker. She glanced at the clock and gasped when she suddenly remembered that she had to be working at the cafeteria tonight in half an hour until ten. Which meant she had little time to eat since rice usually took twenty minutes to cook and she had to hurry to town. She searched the fridge again desperately for maybe some mince or leftovers from last night and heated the saucepan. While everything was still cooking, she rushed into her room, changed out of her top and into the cafeteria's special T-shirt with the trademark. __What about my mask? I can't simply tell them that I'm not coming today… Pausing in silence for a minute, Mikazuki was alarmed when she smelt the beginning of a burnt smell. For once she began to show her true self, the disorganised yet relaxed side; what she had hidden from many. _

"Sorry I'm late Emi!" Mikazuki said as she strode through the door, collapsing on the counter. A woman with dark brown-black hair peeked at her curiously, looking at her in all angles. "Huh? What's the matter?"

"Head up Mika," she ordered, using the nickname she had given her employee who had reluctantly accepted the use of that name. The breathless girl looked up and stared into Emi's light brown eyes which were dancing cheekily. "You're serving tonight now that I know you won't scare away my costumers with that stupid mask of yours. I seriously don't know why you wear that thing with this cute face of yours although your scar sticks out a bit, but I think you're gorgeous."

Mikazuki brushed her fingers against her face and realised that she had left the torn mask at home and slammed her fist against the counter. "Emi, I came here to work inside the kitchen, not outside. I don't even know what to do." Rushing the younger woman into the kitchen to avoid disturbing her customers, Emi couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

"You're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll catch on easily." She pulled a small kit from her pocket and opened it, revealing a small brush and some foundation. Expertly she collected some foundation with the brush and followed the girl's cheek bone, trying to cover the long scar. Unfortunately it didn't work as she had expected it to and applied more foundation. 

"It's not going to work Emi," she muttered and pushed away the hand. Mikazuki took a tissue from the tissue box and wiped off the powder. "It'll be there no matter how you try to cover it." Secretly she thanked her only friend for her effort and sighed. _If only I could tell her what I've been hiding. From out of nowhere, Kurama's image came to her mind, startling her. __Shuichi's my friend too I suppose. _

Emi folded her arms and glared at her friend, "Fine, don't appreciate what I tried to do." She stalked out after giving Mikazuki a reassuring smile. This woman was the only one who didn't question her about her mask, the one who accepted her for her differences and her isolation; the one who opened her up. "Hey come out here Mika, we need help out here," Emi stated as she poked her head into the kitchen again. Mikazuki nodded and headed out barricading herself again slightly while pretending as she served customers to their seats. 

All had been going well for a while, until she recognised three of her schoolmates, all in her year. What a coincidence. She gulped and shook herself mentally then took a deep breathe. To avoid them recognising her, there was only one way to it, act happy? Muiro Teki and his friends. Handing them a menu, she smiled and quickly walked off to another table with customers who were ready to order. Nervously she scribbled the order and left heading for the kitchen until she heard Muiro's voice booming behind her. "Hey Miss, can we order?" Mikazuki hesitantly obliged and strode as nonchalantly as she could to him. He listed several orders while staring at her with friendly eyes all of the time. 

"Anything else?" she managed to muttered and quickly left when he shook his head.

"Is that waitress new here? I've never seen her before until today," Muiro's blonde-haired friend stated, leaning over the table. His friend's shrugged at the comment and sipped his tea. "She's not bad looking, although she could definitely do without that scar." 

"What?" Muiro grinned cheekily. "Do you think she's cute?"

"Why don't you?" Muiro's other friend asked, casting an inquisitive glance at his friend. Nodding honestly, Muiro tried to look as innocent as possible.

"But I agree with Taka, she'll definitely look better without that scar, but nevertheless she's pretty. I say better than some of the girls in our school." 

~*~*~*~

Kurama glanced around at the empty isolated desk, Mikazuki wasn't there. He hadn't seen her for an entire day, perhaps she was ill. Suddenly, he thought about visiting her since she didn't live more than two streets away. It was convenient for him to stop by, if only he knew the correct number of her home. "Minnamino, please write out the formula on the board," the teacher repeated for the second time, this time he was successful.

"Sorry," he apologised as the girls giggled at his cuteness when he blushed slightly red and walked to the front of the room. Beg your pardon, by what was the formula again?" 

"Listen next time Minnamino, the formula is hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide equals water and what?"

"Thanks you sir." His hand automatically wrote the correct answer while his mind was on something else.

He headed down the street a while after splitting up with his friends glancing at the signs of the walls, looking for the plaque with 'Tsukishiro' inscribed on it. It wasn't that hard to find, especially since it was close the end of the street. Kurama glanced around, noting the rather messy garden, making him try and resist cleaning it up for her. Ringing, the doorbell announced Kurama's arrival.

Tsukishiro Mikazuki smoothed out the flexible material with her bare fingers. The material itself was still at a high temperature and so she had to force water energy towards her fingers to keep the heat low from burning her skin. So far it was working perfectly but she definitely didn't expect the doorbell to ring, not so soon anyway. Emi was going to visit later this afternoon since her older sister was going to take over today and had decided on cleaning up the house a bit. She held the mask in one hand and strode casually to the door, pass the awfully bare lounge. Little did she know or expect that Kurama was waiting outside.

Unlocking the door single-handedly with a smile, she glanced up at her visitor, her face turning into horror, gasping before she slammed the door shut, only to be held open by Kurama's strong hand. She ducked her head and turned around, placing the unfinished mask on her face whilst trying to regain her composure. "Hi," Kurama stuttered after taking a gulp and reassuring himself. He barely trusted his own voice but tried to keep his voice as casual as possible, "I just came to see how you were and lend you my notes for science." Slowly, Mikazuki turned around and looked glanced away from Kurama's face, not remembering that he couldn't see through her mask. 

"Th…thanks," she uttered and reached forwards as her classmate passed her a neatly covered exercise book with Kurama's elegant handwriting labelling the book. 

"I guess I'll be going then." The red-haired bishounen turned around and began to leave.

"I'm sorry that.. I nearly slammed to door on you." Her voice was timid and quiet, much like a shy little child. 

Shrugging, Kurama smiled and said, "It's alright, I understand."

They stood in silence for a while, one not wanting to leave yet and the other not knowing what to say. "Um… Do you want to come in? For a while- I mean sit down for a while?" Underneath her mask, Mikazuki felt slightly more secure. 

"Ok, I'll stay for a while."

Kurama followed her into the small house, through the narrow entrance hall to the lounge with only a small traditional Japanese table and the cushions. She gestured at the cushions which he approached slowly, noticing several unused cushions and one with signs of being recently used. As the host, Mikazuki boiled some tea and sat down opposite him, starring at her tea in a rather nervous fashion. "My house is rather bare isn't it?" she asked. 

"Not really, only a little."

"…" Neither knew what to say, holding another silent period. "Don't tell anyone about…"

"I won't, you have my word on it."

"Thanks."

Sipping his tea, Kurama reflected on the incident only a few minutes ago. He was waiting for Mikazuki to open the door as she fumbled a bit. He wasn't expecting much, only a few words with her and then perhaps he would leave and he didn't expect to see her face as it was. Her tensed yet mysterious eyes had caught his attention, just like the scar following her right cheekbone. For once in a while, he was speechless, unable to make his brain function as swiftly as it often did. "Why do you hide your face?" 

This question was expected, she knew it was coming and breathed in before taking her hand to her mask and let her finger stroke it. "It hides the real me. I don't want to be involved with those prejudice freaks. I can only trust two people now, Emi and you." She peeled the mask off and laid it on the table.

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: __How was that chapter? Strange wasn't it? I thought so… I thought I might just speed things up a bit. Reviews are welcome! The more the merrier ^.^ I wanted to quickly upload this one so I didn't go through it at all._**


	5. Arousing Suspicion

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_I don't have a single clue what the mask is made of. I actually got/borrowed the idea of Saint Seiya and somehow the characters manage to breath and see under it. *shrugs* Btw, if anyone has any questions about some of my characters feel free to ask as they may be rather confusing, it goes for some of the Japanese words used although I try not to use any other than the commonly used ones._

Obaasan: old lady (the word Yuusuke calls Genkai in the Jap version.)

Ningenkai: human world (just thought I'd put it up again in case someone didn't know) 

Rekai: spirit world (as above)

Chapter 5

Arousing Suspicion

"So you work at a cafeteria?" Kurama asked casually, noticing his friend become more relaxed as he spoke. "Which one?"

Mikazuki poured herself another cup of tea and replied, "It's near the shopping arcade, although it's not that big in comparison to other cafeterias, it's fairly busy throughout the evening towards seven o' clock." She thought silently for a second. "It's called-" The doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. "Excuse me for a second." Kurama nodded and watched her leave him, running towards the door in hurry. He glanced at her mask on the table and touched the light material. It barely weighed a thing but it wasn't plastic, instead it felt like something familiar from possibly another world. Dismissing the thought, the looked at the clock ticking on the kitchen bench and collected his bag, the sky was already darkening. His friend came back, along with a woman, not much older than her. "Let me introduce. Emi, this is Minamino Shuuichi, my classmate. This is Hirawa Emi, a friend of mine." They greeted each other with a bow.

"I'll be leaving now," Kurama announced.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school." She led him to the door and thanked him again for his notes as he left the house and stepped onto the road.

Arriving home, Kurama heard the phone ringing and ringing. It didn't cease to stop until he answered it, "Hello?"

"Kurama? It's Yuusuke are you free tomorrow evening around five?" The person on the other side of the line spoke casually in his cool assertive self. 

"Not until six-thirty, what's the matter Yuusuke?" 

Yuusuke replied, "I'll meet you tomorrow at six-thirty at Blue Haven. Kuwabara will be there, so will Botan and Genkai."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Slowly putting down the phone, Kurama sighed and poured himself a cup of water, sipping the cool refreshing liquid. Although it had been a short trip from Mikazuki's house to his own home, the sun rays were penetrating and it had caused his throat to be slightly dry. He strode to the sofa and seated himself comfortably while placing his cup onto the glass table. The television was switched on and after flicking from several different channels, he managed to find one with the news on it. _I wonder what Yuusuke has to tell us. It must be important to call the all of us. _Somehow he felt… happy, not knowing why. Perhaps it was because he had fulfilled his curiosity to know exactly who she was, no that wasn't why. There was this other feeling alongside happiness, it was disappointment. Disappointment because there was something very personal she was hiding, one he could barely realise until he saw it, the second she showed it and hid it. She was very good at disguising emotions deep within herself, but he told himself, the curious part of himself that this was her secret for her alone and perhaps she didn't want to share it with him.

~*~*~*~

He noticed her at school, wearing that mask again, that mask which he for no reason despised ever since yesterday afternoon. But he brushed the thought away and approached her, hoping to hear her bouncy, chuckling voice again. "Morning Mikazuki," he greeted.

"Morning Shuuichi," she muttered in her monotone voice and walked to class, her books in one hand with her bag strapped around a shoulder. It was as if there wasn't any difference after revealing her real self, as if nothing happened at all. He watched her disappearing figure and turned away to search for his friends. Suddenly, a pointy object poked him on the head. Glancing around, he noticed a small paper aeroplane with neatly folded wings and fine words written inside. Unfolded, it read,

'Hey Shuuichi, you better hurry to class or else the _Minamino Fan club_ will be here soon! See you at science, Mikazuki.' Quietly he laughed to himself, she had even draw a smiley-face with a tongue poking out. He quickly hurried to class, nearly tripping over someone's leg. 

"Hey," he uttered in his annoyed but polite voice. The guilty person looked at him with pure innocence. "Mikazuki, I should've guessed it was you." The light-haired teenager merely smiled and led the way to their science class.

"Sorry about that," she apologised but couldn't avoid a grin as she placed her bag on the single desk she had been used to. Kurama chuckled, saying that it wasn't anything serious. 

"Why don't you sit closer? You seem bored all the way over there," he stated and patted the empty desk next to his. 

But she shook her head, rejecting his offer. "It's a better place over here, being able to aim your head and all." In the sling short position that the rubber band had formed, Mikazuki placed a folded piece of paper and aimed it at him. She let it lose and the 'bullet' zoomed right pass him, barely brushing his fringe. He glanced at her in admiration and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Great shot Mikazuki." 

The door slammed open and Mikazuki swiftly fell onto her seat and opened her test book, as if she were doing last minute homework the entire time while Kurama leaned against the bookcase and stared out of the window pretending to look at the sky. Students started to file in, gossiping the entire time, ignoring both Kurama and Mikazuki. Muiro Teki stepped in with the usual two following behind him. The sound of his voice made her look up and recall the events that had happened several nights ago. Mikazuki merely looked back at her textbook which she jammed into her bag when the teacher walked up. 

~*~*~*~

"I've got to finish off some biology work," Kurama explained to his friend as she sat on the table and swung her legs. "You better go first."

Mikazuki shrugged and asked, "What time do you finish Shuuichi?"

"Around six-fifteen but I'm going out tonight so you better go."

"Are you sure?" The red-haired bishounen nodded positively and shooed her out of the science lab so that she would hopefully head back home which she did with little reluctance. Now he realised how caring the real Mikazuki was, much unalike the first time they met. She had left and he was alone to work on the dying plants. With some youkai, the plants should be able to regain its lost strength and grow healthily again. But not only was youkai necessary, but some dust from Makai which he had brought back with him from the last time he returned which wasn't all that long ago. Sprinkling the dust over the yellow-leafed plants, Kurama carefully transferred some of his energy into the vegetation, being cautious as to not overfill the powerful energy. After attending them for about fifteen minutes, he was rather content and finished his report about them, taking as much detail as he could possibly write without exceeding his time limit. 

Mikazuki had left the building and was strolling casually down the street. She glanced at the sun that continued glaring at her. Within her own body, she adjusted the water and let the pure liquid stream between the last layers of skin so that it kept her cooler and less distracted by the heat.  Abruptly, she felt this strong use of youkai and jerked her head towards the direction it came from, feeling its strong radiating waves. Whoever this youko was, he was definitely strong, much stronger than her and hopefully held no threat to the world. But nevertheless she urged herself to continue walking and after a while, the youkai disappeared altogether and she continued home pondering. 

"Hello Mika…" Emi's voice had lowered from a happy, cheerful voice to an irritated tone. "Get that thing off your face this instant. You're not going to be a serving clown." The older woman walked up to Mikazuki and confiscated the mask by peeling it off and tucking it into her apron, without giving her employee any excuse to take it back. "You're staying out here serving and that's that." Once she felt better, Emi poured herself a cup of tea and seated herself at a table since there were few customers. She had instructed Mikazuki to help out at the kitchen and she had obliged without another word. That was the advantage of having a worker like her, she always followed instructions, well occasionally she might pull a face at Emi for annoying her and how she could change her personality so easily was strange to Emi. 

Yuusuke stepped into the cafeteria, with his hair gelled like usual while wearing his new school uniform, not the old green uniform anymore even though it was the wrong colour. Beside him was an orange-red haired teenager, looking the same age as Yuusuke, wearing even the same uniform. Together they seated at a table and glanced down the menu for refreshment. Mikazuki stepped out and approached the pair. "Can I take your order, sirs?"

"Give me a cup of mocha," Yuusuke uttered while his friend continued scanning the menu. "Can you take any longer than you are doing now Kuwabara?"

The taller teen glared at him and mumbled, "I'll have a cappuccino." 

"Is there anything else you'd like?" she asked after writing down the two orders. Both shook their heads, wondering silently about their wallets. Leaving the table, Mikazuki noticed a two female characters entering the cafeteria and as she was about to help them to a seat, the older woman grunted as Yuusuke called out to them. She looked up at that other girl who followed her, looking enthusiastic. _I remember seeing her a few days ago. She was with Kurama but she doesn't come to our school and she wore our uniform. There's something suspicious about her. Just as she walked into the kitchen, she noticed a particular red-haired customer walking in and greeting the odd bunch she had just served. _Shuuichi…_ She grabbed one of her colleagues who were serving and asked her to take that table's orders instead of her. Something was getting rather strange but she didn't know what. Emi walked into the kitchen and slapped Mikazuki gently on the head,_

"Stop daydreaming." The slap had definitely caught Mikazuki's attention, bringing her back to reality. 

"Sorry Emi."

"Serve this tray to table eight." She pushed the tray of drinks into her hand and ushered her out of the kitchen.

Mikazuki sighed with relief when she realised that Kurama was facing the window away from her and was rather involved in the discussion between him and his group. Somehow they all seemed to be tensed and frustrated at the conversation between them. She managed to manoeuvre around the tables without arousing much suspicion from those particular people but there was one who seemed cautious of her every move. 

~*~*~*~

Genkai glanced around at the cafeteria, noticing something strange. When she had first worked in, the waitress showed slight differences just by looked at her face. The scar showed an abnormal stream of unusual energy emitting off the last layer of skin. It seemed as if it were energy left over from the attack that hadn't left even after so long, she had estimated it to be at least eleven years old. But the one who had caused the scar must've been a strong ki user, with overpowering force able to leave the energy for here for so long. "Obaasan, what's wrong?" Yuusuke asked, pondering for a while. 

"Nothing," Genkai muttered and decided to keep the information to herself for a while, until at least when they were out of there.

Mikazuki gingerly placed the last glass onto the table and left the customers to dine in peace. She continuously passed Kurama, picking up their soft whispers with her keen ears which would've been even stronger if she were in her other form. Nevertheless she had been able to hear most of the words with little difficultly. 

"Haven't you felt it?" Yuusuke questioned his friends, gaining some uncertain looks.

The light blue-haired bubbly girl spoke slightly louder than the rest, "Once I think, when I went to find Kurama."

"Was it the first day when I transferred it to my new school?" Kurama enquired, sending Botan a questioning glance.

Suddenly she realised it, it began to make sense to her but then it startled her to realise the truth. Rushing into the kitchen, she caught the attention of most of the customers although none realised what had exactly happened, but Genkai continued to keep her suspicions to herself. They resumed their conversation without further delay and tried to figure out who this youko was and how exactly it had come into the Ningenkai. 

"Mika, what happened?" Emi asked worriedly and placed a comforting hand on Mikazuki's shoulder.

Merely shaking her head, Mikazuki smiled at Emi. "Nothing, I just got startled when I saw my friend here."

"Minamino Shuuichi?" 

She nodded her head and continued to smile.

"Why don't you go say hello or something?"

"No point, he's with his friends and I don't really know them. Besides he may be talking about something important," she shrugged and readjusted her clothes slightly. _He's discussing about me. So he is__ Youko Kurama. I should've realised and those with him are the famous tournament winners; Yuusuke, Genkai and that red-haired dude. Then there's the Rekai Ferry Girl, Botan. Then that means-_

"Mika? Are you ok? Do you need a break?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mikazuki combed her hair with her fingers and shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Emi looked rather doubtful and pulled the reluctant girl outside to a table where they sat down in a quieter corner, away from the customers. "You stay here, I'm going to get us some tea, or hot chocolate which do you prefer?"

"Tea… Thanks Emi."

"No worries." She headed off to the kitchen again, leaving Mikazuki alone sitting staring at the counter. There seemed to be so many puzzle pieces that finally fitted together although she had been clueless the entire time, until not long ago. Minamino Shuuichi was actually Youko Kurama which meant that he was the key to…

"Hello miss, can I talk to you for a second?" Glancing around, she noticed a familiar face peering at her, startling her suddenly. "I'm sorry, but did I scare you?" She shook her head, unable to suppress some of her released nervousness quick enough. It was Muiro Teki, one of the biggest pain she had ever encountered this week. Basically everything had happened this week, she had crashed into him in the morning at school, he had seen her face last time without knowing her identity and this time he was right next to her trying to act… polite? At school he was more or the less laughing, not cruelly but irritatingly at the other students, sometimes showing off to the other girls. Truthfully he wasn't bad looking but ever since Kurama came he had thought of the bishounen as a rival, not that many girls liked Muiro. "I was just wondering if I could have a chat with you for a mo-"

Arriving back, Emi raised her eyebrows and placed the cups on the table. "Hey, did I disturb you?"

"No, no really," he murmured and left the table, leaving Mikazuki giving Emi at a grateful glance which he didn't witness. He bumped accidentally into Kurama's chair and apologised. "Huh? Minamino, you're here too?"

Kurama nodded and greeted his new classmate; luckily he had learnt most of the student's names already and was able to reply without embarrassment. "Muiro, it's great to see you here."

"Gotta go," the boy smiled and left the table, leaving the entire group speechless.

Kuwabara knitted his eyebrows and asked, "What's his problem?" Kurama shrugged and glanced around, smelling a familiar scent.

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_Slightly strange wasn't it - again… That's not the point but thanks to the reviewers I am dedicated to this YYH ficcie. I thought I'd just make fun of Muiro since he's an odd little character. Didn't edit again, I'm so lazy. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or its characters, I only own the plot and Mikazuki. No I don't own the mask, I 'borrowed' it. It belongs to 'em… those who created Saint Seiya._


	6. Portal to Makai

**Solitary Mask **

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: __Sorry about that late update but I had to finish an assignment and my GW chapters before I was allowed to start on this one. Well, read on!_**

Chapter 6

Portal to Makai

Kurama glanced around, smelling a familiar scent of gardenias. He was wondering where he had smelt it before. He couldn't forget the fresh smelling scent of the gardenias which he had often smelt around one particular person; Mikazuki. Glancing around determinedly, Kurama was unable find the girl he was searching for, instead he noticed another familiar person, Mikazuki's friend. But there were more important matters at hand and so he gave his full attention to his friends as they discussed the possibilities. 

~*~*~*~

Once they had their short five-minute break, customers began piling into the cafeteria, forcing Emi and Mikazuki to continue their work. "Mika," Emi uttered, shoving a tray of drinks into her hands, "this is for your friend's table." She gave her a friendly wink before she was hurried off to serve others. _I guess this is where I make my appearance. Walking towards their table with a friendly smile on her face, she cautiously placed the drinks on the table. Genkai was staring at her with a strange, suspicious look on her face as if she was trying to find out something._

Kurama glanced at the hand placing down his drink and scanned upwards, following the arm to the person whom he had instantly recognized. "Hey Mikazuki," he smiled cheerily, startling his friends with his sudden words.

"Hey Shuichi," the light-haired teenager greeted, with the same degree of cheerfulness. "It's a nice surprise to see you here." Then she chuckled innocently. "You'd think I'd notice your red hair. Well it's best that I get back to work. It's nice seeing you and your friends here." Quickly she left, giving Kurama's friends a rather strange impression of her. 

"Is she your friend Kurama?" Botan enquired after gulping down some of her milkshake.

"From school," he replied casually. "Mikazuki Tsukishiro. She was rather strange at first but she's loosened up a lot since then." 

"What do you mean by strange?" Genkai asked nonchalantly as if she were not exactly that interested.

"She kept her emotions concealed and never really expressed herself to anyone at all. The entire school left her alone." He paused before saying, "Well let's get back to more important matters." Kurama didn't want to dwell on it any further, knowing that it rather disrespectful to talk about someone behind their back. 

~*~*~*~

Most of the customers had already left after a hearty meal and Mikazuki was nearly ready to leave, her backpack flung onto her back and her hand gently gripping her mask. That was about everything she had to bring, once last mental check and then she left. On her way home, she passed the news agency and bought a newspaper which she purchased nightly. The worker there always remembered her because she visited that place often with her mask on and tonight was one of those nights. Mikazuki dropped the coins into his hand and walked out again, clutching the newspaper in one hand. She could see the main heading of tonight's newspaper, mentioning something about a three-eyed alien being sighted. Chuckling softly to herself she smiled and continued the rest of her way home.

The dark night was rather lonely and chilling but she was used to that so it didn't matter all that much. Her footsteps echoed in the darkness of the night as she walked. Just as she was about to turn the corner into her own street, she predicted what was about to happen. A creature leapt from the bushes, charging at her with swift speed but missed her as she moved at the last second. She smirked and crouched on the footpath, patting the creature. "You missed again Song," she laughed softly while stroking the fluffy grey-white fur. "What, have you got news?" The creature continuously wagged its tail and followed Mikazuki into her home. Once she made sure that the door was locked and the curtains firmly shut, she settled down at the couch with a cup of warm tea in her hand while her companion lay on the couch with its head on her lap. Lights had made the creature identifiable; revealing a strong slender wolf with a grey and white coloured coat. Tan patches brightened the she-wolf's coat, making her much more attractive to the human eye. Mikazuki didn't care about her companions' fur colours; to her they were beautiful especially at heart. She hated how the human population stereotyped wolves to be evil creatures that attacked humans and killed babies. They never did that, they only defended themselves from humans. There was also something else she could never understand, why humans thought themselves as superiors to the animal kingdom when they were just the same in status; animals of the world. 

Song growled softly, successfully catching Mikazuki's attention once again before relaying her thoughts into the youkai's mind through telepathy. A sign of glee appeared on Mikazuki's face as she continued to scratch the wolf gently behind the ears. _This is excellent Song. Perhaps we'll have a chance after all there's half a year until we have to be there. Merely yawning in agreement, the creature dozed off on her friend's comfortable lap. _

While the creature lay asleep, Mikazuki picked up the newspaper she had left on the table and read the headline once again and then she recognised the familiarity between the 'alien' drawn on the front page to a famous youkai. The youkai they had labelled 'The Forbidden Child'. She laughed softly to herself and read the articles concerning the sighting of Hiei, revealing a lot more comedy than actual relevant information. Placing the paper on the table, she leaned back against the couch, thinking about her companions. Without them she definitely would not be spending her time here learning and educating herself but instead searching for the path that would hopefully lead her right back to Makai. 

~*~*~*~

Now that it was finally the weekend and her last lesson on Saturday had ended around lunch meant that they were free for the rest of the weekend. Song had decided to stay inside the house since she had slept throughout the night until midday and no body really wanted to see a wolf since they were all so afraid of such 'dangerous' creatures. The pair were waiting for night to come. "So Shuichi is Youko Kurama," Mikazuki muttered to herself thoughtfully. "He's been appearing in my dreams so often, maybe I'll encounter him sometime in Makai." 

Darkening, the sky became dotted with stars, along with the moon; their brightness illuminating the night sky. Mikazuki shut the door gently behind her, locking it with her stiffened fingers. Although the night atmosphere was chilly and the wind brought coldness through the sky, the silver-haired girl only wore a T-shirt, long denim jeans and a blue spray jacket to keep off the cold. She only brought with her a pair of keys and a single wolf. They started walking down the street path, trying to avoid as many people as possible. Song had decided to walk through bushes instead even though it was much rougher, she had thought it to be much safer. "Mikazuki, where're you going this late at night?" Kurama's voice yelled from out of nowhere. Stopping at her tracks, Mikazuki turned around and glanced at the familiar figure and smiled casually. 

"I'm going to the shopping markets, are you heading home?" Mikazuki asked as sweetly as possible. Kurama smiled and nodded. "It's best that I go or else the shops may close, bye." Mikazuki quickly hurried off, turning around to wave at Kurama one last time before she turned the corner.

_That was a close one, wasn't it Song? The wolf replied telepathically, 'Very. Is he the one they call Kurama?' __Uh-huh. Very powerful too. Let's get going or the others will have to wait much longer. Rapidly darkening within minutes, the youkai and her wolf sped up until they were at Song's limit. When it was finally dark enough, Mikazuki transformed and raced beside her wolf sister, their tough paws crashing against the cement. There wasn't much further to go until they reached the forest, the woods of their hiding. Scrambling through shrubbery and splashing in small streams, they finally reached their destination. Song was rather exhausted in comparison to Mikazuki. Several others greeted her happily, their nuzzles coming into contact and their tails waving madly. Once that was done, they eventually got into business and the wolves led her to a large swamp, a layer of murky green plants, floating on top and a deep area of mud coating the swamp's edges. 'Under that layer of mud is the portal to the other world,' the alpha male of the pack explained to Mikazuki through the same method as Song did. The youkai allowed the conversation to be heard throughout the pack, thanking her pack gratefully. __I'm going to see what's beyond that portal, you needn't follow me in case of danger. Nervously, the wolves felt that it was a must to help one of their own in any situation._

'We are a pack, we live as a pack and we work as a pack. Let us go together,' another wolf suggested, his eyes focussed on the swamp. He was eager to see what was on the other side, the place Mikazuki had often described.

_No, Mikazuki sent to their minds in a firm tone. It shocked them slightly for her to use such strong mental emotions on them but it was necessary to reassure them or else she would end up with eleven wolves and four pups in Makai and they would need some protection from the beasts there. When at last they had agreed to her going alone, she wagged her tail reassuringly at them before plunging into the dense liquid. _

~*~*~*~

She could feel the thick dried mud clinging to her fur uncomfortably. Her eyes opened to see the brilliant moon beaming at her, its brightness competing with the Makai moon. Lifting her paw, she swiped at her muzzle, trying to free her eyes of the thick mud that obscured her vision. It wasn't exactly safe to be there in a pool of mud like she was at the moment, especially since the Forbidden Child became the guardian of the gates. Slowly standing up, she looked around, searching for a lake or stream to wash off her extra coating. Shimmering water caught her attention as she leapt frantically towards the water and plunged into it, the refreshing water brushing against the dried mud particles. It was working and with her ability to control water, she was able to clean herself in no time. After washing herself, she crawled out of the pond and shook herself of the water while absorbing some of the water into her body since shaking couldn't dry her coat entirely. Her metal chest plate seemingly was water resistant as it didn't rust in the water. Feeling refreshed, she trotted back to the place she had first been. Beside where she first lay was a dark muddy pool, no bigger than the pond she had washed herself in. _This must be where I came through from. She tried desperately to recognise the place around her, but it had been many years since she had actually been there. Instead she transformed back into her human body and surveyed the area; a great area of nothing. Well there were trees and few bushes but that was about it._

Suddenly, she noticed a giant worm-like creature coming at her in great speed. It wasn't impossible for it to be a creature but at the rate it was going, it seemed to be a transport of some sort rather than a giant bug. She thought back to the newspaper article from the night before and then at the possibility of it being Hiei's transportation. Never had she witnessed the fire youkai do his job so it was safer to assume what she had suspected than otherwise. Summoning her strength, she transformed into a different body; her youkai body. This was another transformation that differed from her wolf form and her human form. It suited her fighting much better than her human form would since it was physically stronger and could endure more blows than the others. Long silver-white pointed wolf-ears sprouted in place of her human ears as a wolf-like tail appeared, connecting to her tailbone. Even her clothes changed. She was wearing a black sleeveless top, with a strong silver chest plate over it, a large leaf-shaped metal that protruded out from the armour at the shoulder to protect it. It was curved and rose upwards slightly from the connection between it and the armour and pointed sharply at the end. There was only one of them and it covered her left shoulder. Her hands and lower arms had been covered with tough animal skin, leather straps winding around her arms to keep the skin in place. They ended just above her wrists, allowing her fingers more flexibility as the skins merely hung around her knuckles, with stripped edges. Her shorts ended just below her knees, with a long strip of cloth winding around her waist to avoid her shorts from falling off. As for her shoes, she wore sneakers and socks, something which had amused her at that moment.

The thing was approaching in lightening speed, barely halting in front of her. On the top of the machine were two figures; a short youkai with relatively high youki, just like the youkai next to him. Mikazuki looked up at the one she assumed to be the Forbidden Child, her blue eyes laughing in amusement. Next to him was another famous youkai, Mukuro. She knew her limited strength and quickly darted away before they had thought of their next step. Mikazuki definitely didn't want to be beaten up for no reason, especially not by one of Makai's strongest pair.

~*~*~*~

Hiei looked at the figure standing motionlessly before him. Although his emotions didn't show it, he was pondering. He had sworn that there was a human within Makai. Even his radars had detected the presence of humans, perhaps they were just simply malfunctioning. It had happened several times before and he had often ended up finding Urameshi. Perhaps using these machines to detect human blood just wasn't enough, make them detect ki instead, it would be much more efficient that way. "Half demons," Hiei muttered to no one in particular and continued his search for humans while Mukuro retreated to her own room. 

~*~*~*~

Kurama pressed the doorbell continuously, and again there was no reply from within. _Where is she? He had been coming to her home since Monday afternoon to see whether how she was going. Mikazuki hadn't attended school since Monday through to Thursday and he was getting worried. At first he had assumed that she had possibly gone out to see a doctor those few days before but now he was positive it wasn't that. Summoning his youki, Kurama picked the lock easily and walked in cautiously. He closed the door behind him, placed his bag on the floor and took off his shoes. There were few shoes in Mikazuki's house, only two pairs; a pair of school shoes and boots. Striding into the kitchen, he noticed the more homely look of her home. Albeit there weren't more items there, it just seemed warm anyway. "Mikazuki?" he asked and raised an eyebrow to the silence. Curiosity once again got the better of him as he walked further down the corridor and turned to find her bedroom. It was spotless as he had guessed but there was something strange about it. The room didn't seem like a girl's at all, there was no mirror, no posters, not even a single soft toy. Instead there were just a small pile of books concerning her school work on her desk, a plain bed and a wardrobe in her room, nothing else except for the clock by the windowsill. Like a gentleman, he walked out of the room, leaving the room untouched. It was rather disrespectable to search through a girl's room even if there were no one to witness it. _

Without any luck he walked to the kitchen, prepared to go searching for her personally outside until the doorbell rang. He had considered opening the door, but then others would suspect him of breaking into the house and so he merely walked to the window and glanced outside. _The headmaster?__ Why is he here? He looks nervous. He waited for a while longer before the man left slightly in relief. Was Mikazuki that frightening? __I might as well leave. Just as he started heading to the door, the flashing red light caught his eye. The telephone had missed calls, several in fact. Picking the phone up, he pressed a button and listened to the message, it was from Emi asking where Mikazuki was. The other messages from her were alike. Then there were others as well; from the headmaster asking for… Mikazuki's mother? Of course no one replied him and so he had decided for a personal visit to her home but no one was at home. Questions filled his mind, tumbling in all at once. __Mikazuki never mentioned her parents, does that mean she's an orphan? Where does her supporting money come from? Is that why she works at a cafeteria every night? Then where can she be?  It was confusing, very confusing in fact. _

~*~*~*~

Mikazuki had much trouble finding her way out of Makai, encountering many demons challenging her for a fight. She had accepted, knowing that it would only be smart to start her training now, not a day before when she was needed. But afterwards, she had been rather exhausted. The C and D class youkais proved to be little challenge but the B class youkai were piling in for fights. Walking with difficulty, she headed towards a small visible lake and let herself physically drop into it. By coming into contact with water, she could regain her strength but she'd have to spend a while in there before she could regain her full strength. Time… she has lost all sense of time. Truthfully she was too tired to count the days she had spent in Makai, but she knew it was well past the weekend, which meant that she had missed quite a few days of school already. Emi was expecting her to help out at the cafeteria too! Scrambling out of the water with little youkai refilled, she hurried off in search of that portal she had come from. Her legs were trembling hopelessly under her and she could feel herself ready to collapse any time, but nevertheless she moved on. Luckily the sun had already disappeared into horizon and the moon had taken its place. The moon meant that she could use its energy instead of her own as it reflected water energy off its surface. That was the advantage of having water elemental for one's youki, it meant that they could use the moon to support them since it controlled water tides. But if the moon's rays didn't touch her, she wasn't able to use its energy. 

Finally after a several hours of endless running, she managed to find the pool of mud. Without second thoughts, she leapt in and appeared back in the Ningenkai. Like she had suspected, the wolves had gone to their den and she was glad that they had. There was something wrong, she could feel it. Bringing her hand up, she brushed the filth off her hair and her furry ears. "That's what…" she murmured to herself. "I don't think I have the energy to change back into my human form though." She sent a thankful smile to the moon as she stood up on her feet and started running out the forest; back home.

~*~*~*~

Mikazuki left her home early the next morning, feeling extremely exhausted. She barely managed to escape Makai alive and now she was going to school. The sun was already climbing up the sky, much to her dismay. Painfully walking up the stairs to the lockers, she grabbed the rails for support. So much of her energy had been drained that she could barely think to herself. Instead, her mind was rather blank. Looking at her timetable, she read 'physical education', which meant sport. Could she skip that? The teachers didn't allow them to play sport when they didn't bring their uniform and this was more or less the case. She made her way back down the stairs again and headed for the gym. Empty and quiet, she leaned her back against the wall and sat down, falling asleep immediately.

"Tsukishiro Mikazuki, Tsukishiro," her name was being called continuously as she opened her eyes, feeling not much better than before. The teacher repeated her name, waking her fully. "You didn't bring your uniform did you?"

Shaking her head sleepily, she fell back against the wall and slept again. If Mikazuki wasn't such a strange character, the students would've laughed but the fact that the mask reminded them of her personality shut them up. The lesson had ended quickly but the girl was still asleep, leaving the teacher to wake her up reluctantly. Slowly, the girl stood up and walked out of the gym to her next lesson; Maths. Being last to arrive at the class, she walked in and seated herself at her usual seat, not knowing every pair of eyes on her. Again she had slept through class and was barely to wake up when the bell rang. _I need youki… Recess had been extended today because of a staff meeting which meant that she a longer period of time to sleep through. Surprisingly she had been able to jump up onto her favourite tree and started sleeping again._

"Mikazuki? Mikazuki? Wake up," Kurama murmured as he tried hopelessly to wake her up. But when he shook her, he realised that something wrong, she had gone unconscious altogether. He brought his fingers and placed it across her wrist, feeling her slow moving pulse. "She has lack of ki… strange…" Nevertheless, he closed his right hand and opened it again, revealing seeds. "This should do it." Pulling off her mask, he dropped them into her mouth. She slowly woke up and nearly yelled when she saw Kurama, but her low energy restricted her. Kurama's seeds had given her the full power of a human being, but not 'her' full power which meant that she still had a great energy loss. The red-haired bishounen didn't know this nor did she intend to tell him. 

"Thanks Shuichi," she muttered and put her mask back on before releasing her tightened face back to her weary self.

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: __This one's much longer than the others ones, just for you my dear readers. I hope you don't mind the lateness but I have been trying to get over my writer's block and I've finally managed to. Does anyone here like Mukuro and Hiei as a pair? I'm considering whether I should make them a couple or not because I don't really mind about those two. Please tell me what you think. Bais! Chibi Tsuki_**


	7. Restored Energy

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: __I'm back from my holidays and here's another chapter for you all!_**

Chapter 7

Restored Energy

Something was still wrong and Kurama knew that very well, but decided against mentioning this to Mikazuki. She didn't seem to be there at all; well not spiritually. The girl was once again asleep, leaning heavily against the tree, while Kurama glanced at her with hidden anxiety. He nudged her before she fell into a deep sleep and muttered, "Perhaps you should go home. I'll go and ring your home, and see if someone can pick you up."

"No one's going to be at home," the girl responded softly as she tried to seat herself in a more comfortable position, but she lost her sense of balance and fell to one side. Quickly reaching out for her, Kurama grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back towards him. A scarlet blush raced across Mikazuki's face as she noticed the short distance between them, luckily her mask hid her face as she thanked him almost wordlessly. The kitsune in human form was also blushing and immediately let go of her. Shouts broke the silence, alerting the couple that there were other classes to attend. 

"Come on, let's get going," Kurama suggested for Mikazuki's sake. They jumped out of the tree, taking caution towards Mikazuki's rather frail body. 

"I need a drink," the light colour-haired girl murmured just before they entered the building. "You better go to your next class or you'll be late because of me." At first he didn't seem to believe that she was capable of going by herself but her voice seemed stronger, or perhaps she was just acting. Either way he headed to his next class, a worry held in his heart. _I don't exactly understand why it didn't fully work on her. There's something suspicious._

~*~*~*~

Mikazuki stumbled towards the bubbler, her hand constantly reaching out for something to hold. It had been foolish of her to use up so much of her strength and let Kurama become so suspicious. She would've done better to stay at home and search for water at night. Not even having reached the bubbler, her legs piled under her only to be steadied by a pair of strong steeled hands. She nodded her head in thanks, being unable to speak with her parched throat. Turning to look at the one who had so kindly helped her, she stumbled again and this time her consciousness failed her, much alike her body.  

~*~*~*~

He walked stiffly into the pale-walled classroom with windows as wide as a sofa and as tall as a wardrobe. Pale cream-coloured curtains were drawn aside allowing light to enter the dull room. The desks were made of wood, worn away from the frequent graffiti and etching on them. Kurama selected an empty seat and settled there. An absurd tugging in his mind distracted him when his friends tried to talk to him; just chatting away as if there was no tomorrow. A slam alerted them of their teacher's presence and they immediately sat down at their own desks and dug their hands into their bags, searching for class notes most probably in the bottom of their bags. Collecting his own notes Kurama laid his presentable sheets of elegant, cursive handwriting on his desk. Beside the notes lay his most-often used ballpoint pen with words printed in gold still intact because of his careful treatment towards his own belongings. As the teacher spoke about ancient Greece and their cultural beliefs in a grumbling tone, Kurama leafed through pages of his textbook, unable to concentrate. But a sudden padding of hurried footsteps in the corridor aroused the entire class as they all turned to cast a glance out of the room. A tall dark-haired figure was carrying a limp body in one hand, running tirelessly down the hall. The person darted so fast that they couldn't see much more than the blur of silvery white. Being different, Kurama could clearly see the two people, one dark-haired male holding Mikazuki in his arms, a blank expression on his face.

Resisting the urge to run out of class, Kurama turned around and closed his eyes. _She'll be fine. … "Sensei, I'm not feeling well. May I be allowed to go to the infirmary?" he asked with the usual politeness in his voice. The teacher nodded as a gesture of dismissing him and resumed his class. Once he closed the door behind him Kurama broke into a dash down the corridor, his shoes barely skimming the ground. He manoeuvred expertly around two female students who happened to walk out of their classroom that second. They only saw him as a blur when he swept pass them._

A sweet flowery scent filled his nostrils when he stepped into the infirmary and from there, he felt a peculiar feeling of peacefulness. It was unusually calming too. He opened his eyes and released his subconsciously held breath. The room was empty of people but there was a desk standing next to the door, its heavy weight supported by four solid wooden legs. A monitor sat on the tabletop, surrounded by scattered sheets, most likely documents. Two large filling cabinets were settled facing the desk on an angle, following the shape of the room. He sat down on one of the chairs, staring at the closed door straight ahead of him, listening to the muffled voices inside. He could only make out several words since his human ears restricted him. The first to appear inside the infirmary was a nurse who seemed to be no older than thirty at the most. She smiled pleasantly at him, her blond hair; a swirling mass of curls. 

"Are you feeling unwell?" she enquired, automatically placing a small hand on his forehead. "Your temperature is normal."

He shook his head gently and replied, "I…" _Should I just lie? Should I? "I feel as if I'm going to faint because of the heat."_

"Why don't you take a nap, and when you wake up you'll feel better," she suggested and led him into the connecting room. His eyes darted around to where Mikazuki laid peacefully, her scar seemed less obvious against her light creamy skin; another fact he hadn't noticed until then. The breeze blew gently at her, raising strands of hair. It was then did he realise that her mask was off and that there was someone beside her, sitting on the bed, gazing at the mask he held in his hand. 

"Can I just sit at the sofa instead?" Kurama asked when he was ushered into a bed. With the school nurse's approval he headed to the worn down sofa and settled comfortably. He closed his eyes pretending to sleep while she whispered several words to the teenager who had carried Mikazuki here and left the room. Opening his eyes again, he saw him leaning down towards Mikazuki's face until he was breathing on her cheek. When Mikazuki started shifting uncontrollably he placed a palm against her right shoulder and muttered something into her ear. Immediately her entire body became limp again, back into the slumbering form. A smile spread across his strikingly handsome face, and for a second his deep blue eyes sent Kurama a strange wave of melancholy, but that had disappeared as fast as he felt it. 

~*~*~*~

"I know that you're awake, stop pretending," he uttered, directing the question towards Kurama without looking at him. It shocked Kurama that he could sense his consciousness but nonetheless he did not evoke his current emotions through his physical features. The nameless one stood up, his straight blue hair swaying with his body. It revealed a plain golden earring hanging on his right ear. Slowly he strode towards Kurama and halted two metres in front of him. His face was blank, like a book cover. "I advise you to leave her alone," he said in a cool and expressionless voice. "She doesn't need friends, not now and not ever, especially you in particular." Without waiting for another word from Kurama, he walked back to Mikazuki's bedside and placed the mask on the windowsill. His fingers brushed against Mikazuki's cheek and wordlessly left the room.

_Who are you to judge whether Mikazuki can have friend or not? Leaving his belongings on the soda, he stood up and walked over to the Mikazuki, questions filling his mind. He placed a hand on her forehead and instead of finding it hot, he found it cool; much cooler than it the normal body temperature. Suddenly she tried to draw a large mouthful of air through her unconscious state. __What's happening? His eyebrows knotted and placed two fingers on her pulse to feel the rise and fall of it. It had slowed down only by a little but it wasn't safe to assume that she was alright. "Water," she murmured desperately, her hand clutched his wrist with a deathly grip that could possibly break a normal human's wrist joint. Kurama tried to make her release him without waking her up but it didn't seem possible. But perhaps if he was able to give her what she seemed to lack, she would let go. The only problem now was that he couldn't reach the other side of the room, but the youkai, an extremely intelligent one as well, never ceased to think of solutions. He glanced around the room and spotted a pot plant on the second window sill and summoned it from its three year old home. The plant gently lengthened while it roots loosened in the soil. The stem reached out for his bag, sliding inside through the main opening and started searching for his water bottle._

Gulp after gulp, she kept calling for more, draining Kurama's water bottle of its contents until there was no more than a small mouthful left. Her whimpers ceased and her grip on his wrist had loosened. For now she seemed satisfied and even her body temperature seemed to warm up a bit luckily. Smiling Kurama settled back onto the couch and during his waiting for Mikazuki to wake up, he had dozed off. 

~*~*~*~

Hour had past and finally the unconscious student woke. A pain numbed her body while her throat was hoarse and dry, and her head pounding heavily. She dragged herself out of the bed and stared out of the open window, a soothing breeze caressing her skin. _Rain.__ There was moisture in the air and she could feel it just by its light smell and an instinct that never failed her when it came to weather. Thick blankets of grey clouds appeared, hiding a sun behind them without the slightly hesitation. A placid smile crept across her face as she started to head out of the room. She didn't even ask herself of her current location and walked out of the infirmary. If the nurse had been there, maybe she would've woken from her trance, but she wasn't and so Mikazuki followed the moisture out into the opening, an unsheltered area not far from her favourite tree. Soon the cloud burst from the heavy weight. Delicate drops of water finally fell, much to her delight. Her hands were held out, her palm facing upwards to intercept the water as they plunged to the ground. The drops of rain began to fall with a much stronger force, forming puddles on the cement surface. Others came in contact with Mikazuki, embracing her until they were absorbed into her body like a sponge. _

Water meant energy for her and energy meant a lot to her, and everything alive. It had relieved her of her headache and sore throat, and within several minutes she felt much stronger already. Escaped chuckles of laughter displayed her happiness as she danced under the rain. Her youki had already increased to half of her regular strength when the rain had stopped. That was when it occurred to her that she was still in school and that she had come from the infirmary after being carried there by a familiar face she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was also another problem at the current moment, and that was her forgotten mask, placed on the window sill. 

The remaining layer of water that clung to her was instantly absorbed, leaving no trace of her 'unusual' behaviour. She glanced up at the school buildings and smiled. It had been a good day, for the rain had come at last after an entire week of nothing but burning heat. But to her horror she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her in utter confusion and most probably glued to her face. Ducking her head she darted to the building, using only two seconds for that purpose. _What was I doing, running under the rain like that, and in public! _

What she hadn't noticed was a pair of dark-coloured eyes staring at her from afar, following her figure during the entire time without the least bit of difficulty.

**_A/N: __How's the story coming along? I know it's really slow but we're hopefully getting somewhere. Thanks for your patience!_**


	8. Mysterious Characters

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_It came out pretty quick didn't it? I didn't expect that either._

Chapter 8 

Mysterious Characters

Dismissed, the students began to file out of the room while chatting to their friends, passing the unmasked face. No one had been able to notice so far, fortunately. There was only a short distance left for her to reach the infirmary. The only problem with having such light-coloured hair was that it was noticeable especially in a society where the majority had dark-coloured hair except for the ones who had dyed their hair blond. Refraining herself from running Mikazuki bowed her head and left her eyes gazing at the tiled floor. "Excuse me! I'm in a hurry! Excuse me! Coming through!" a voice shouted accompanied by heavy footsteps. Everyone hurried to move out of the way, and unfortunately the ones closer to the middle were pushed aside. She hadn't being able escape from the pushing fast enough and was in fact trapped between a pair of hands, a body and a wall. Her startled blue eyes stared at the brown ones in front of her, both were shocked, but only one was able to make a move. Mikazuki ducked under the teenager's right arm and darted off, not daring to look backwards. _What an idiot I was, just standing there! I'm sure he knew who I was. _She crept back into the infirmary to collect her mask, and her bag. As she stepped into the smaller room her mouth hung agape and her arms felt slightly heavy. Napping ever-so cutely was Kurama, with his hand propped up on the arm of the sofa, supporting his head while his long red hair fell around him. He looked so calm and charming; something she had never seen in a male even though she had spent her an entire childhood surrounded by them. 

She picked up her mask and fixed it back onto her face; it felt much better with it on, but because of the earlier incident there may not be much use of it anymore. Slowly she made her way towards Kurama and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake gently. His closed eyelids flickered open while his body stretched out in different directions. "You're waking at last sleepyhead," the girl murmured and stepped back from him. Kurama smiled kindly at her, still looking much asleep. 

"You look much better now." 

In response, Mikazuki merely nodded. "Let's go home, the rain has stopped."

"I can't, I've got to conduct experiments at the lab today," he replied as he stood up and gathered his belongings.

"Is it for the biology assignment?"

"No, it's for some contest the teacher suggested that I join, perhaps not for the award but for the experience."

"There won't be any problems then. I'll see you on Monday." She took a few steps to the door but stopped and turned around. "Thank you for taking me here." Before Kurama had the time to reply she was already out of the room and on the way home. There would be plenty of time to explain it to her later but the question is, should he tell her?

~*~*~*~

She walked out of the school gate, a cheerful smile plastered on her face, having forgotten about the earlier incident. Instead there was something else occupying her mind; rain. There was sure to be more rain within several days and today she felt lively enough to work at the cafeteria. It must've been disappointing for her not to show up so many times for work, and without a call. It was already Friday and it meant that she had missed four days of school and work. School didn't matter as much as work as she needed the money to support herself, since the only money she had received when she went to the Ningenkai was the money her leader gave her; enough money to last school fees and mortgage until the time came. What was her reason of being sent here anyway? None officially stated. He had sent her there two years ago with faked human certificates, birth certificates, a large sum of money and an order to train for twenty hours at least once a week which she did at her favourite cliff by the sea. Maybe her reason for being here was to watch over the actions of the Rekai Tantei and the situation in Ningenkai as he often did ask whether there were anything suspicious once in a while. 

~*~*~*~ 

Mikazuki sighed, cupping the mug of lukewarm chocolate drink with both hands, for warmth. The cafeteria had gone quiet by the time it was nine and the store was closing at ten-thirty. As her punishment for not appearing at the store for the past four nights, Emi had Mikazuki staying until the minute they closed, which meant she would work for another one and a half hour every night for a fortnight. At the current moment, the problem disturbing her the most was her mask. She had been told to disguise herself to avoid getting attached to anyone, but it was already too late. She had succeeded for two years, until Kurama came and let her realise friendship could be between anyone, anyone and everyone in the world. But it couldn't be, he was a kitsune; a thieving, lying kitsune. He couldn't have changed within seventeen years of living in Ningenkai, could he? _You said that he was a true friend. She recalled her conversation with him when she had agreed to receiving his request to be her friend. No it wasn't a request or anything like that, but instead he had offered it to her and she had accepted it, not knowing what it was really about. _"To tell you the truth, the only thing about you that I can say positively about is that you're a true friend. The rest of it, I'm still unsure." I really didn't know what friendship was at that time until he said those words about me being not different to the others even though he didn't know that I was a youkai. _She smiled to herself and stirred the liquid semi-consciously. _Friendship is such a beautiful thing._ _

'But are you sure he is trustworthy?' a voice asked mentally, breaking through her mind shield without the least bit of difficulty. 

Mikazuki gasped and turned to her left, staring at the person beside her unbelievably. Sudden, unexpected tears blurred her vision, wetting her cheeks. She hugged the person while her tears continued to flow freely. Neither said a word, knowing how the other felt after having not seen one another for two years. Perhaps it wasn't a long time but it felt like it was. The person smiled caringly, blue eyes smiling with hidden joy. "Why don't you care more for your body Mika?" the person questioned, using his special nickname for her while he wiped away the tears with his fingers.

"How did you know?" Mikazuki murmured in a soft voice, afraid of bursting into tears for no reason once again. 

"I saw you at the infirmary. You went back didn't you?" She nodded, gazing into his eyes with a small smile. "Don't cry anymore, I haven't seen you cry since the time you were four."

"I remember, you had gotten speared and fainted." Letting him kiss her softly on her forehead, giving her warm feeling which ran through her veins, heating her entire body like a heater. _Although we may not be blood-related, you're the best brother I'll ever have. She didn't notice the smile appearing on his face which came rather quickly.Slowly reverting back into her normal self, Mikazuki sipped her drink and changed the subject. "Why are you here? I thought that there were five more months until the time came for me to return."_

"There's a change. In one month you must return to Makai, no later and if you possibly can, sooner. We have need of you. The rest I will say when we go back to your home. I have another mission right now so I'll see you in two days when the moon awakes, and remember, there will be a time when the kitsune becomes our enemy," he said no more afterwards. She smiled, waiting for him to leave the cafeteria before finishing off her drink in one gulp. _Will Shuichi really become Kurama; our enemy? _

~*~*~*~ 

"Mika, is that charming gentleman your boyfriend?" Emi asked as they cleaned up the cups to finish the night's work. 

Beside her Mikazuki giggled and shook her head gently. "You can call him a really close friend. I've known him for a long time now."

"He's good-looking, has a good body, compassionate and you call him a close friend only. If I were you I'd ask him to be my boyfriend," Emi admitted, nudging her friend with a cheeky grin while attempting to wipe a mug.

Mikazuki shook her head again and responded in a truthful voice, "I love him more than anything, even more than a brother and a lover. A love so deep that can never be replaced. It's not romance that I see in him, but I see his soul as part of mine; as if we were bonded like some twins are." Her chuckles caught Emi's gaze. "In fact I don't know what romantic love is, I only know the love for a brother and love for objects, but I don't know anything else." Wide-eyed, the older woman stared at her in shock.

"You're seventeen and yet you don't know what romance is?" 

"The world's not going to end if you don't find love, and I never learnt what romance is. I've finished cleaning and it's about time I went home. See you on Monday night!" Quickly Mikazuki hung her apron on the hangers and ran out of the kitchen, leaving Emi to finish the mug she had been drying for nearly five minutes.

~*~*~*~ 

"It's so strange," Kurama mumbled to himself as he sat at the desk closest to his working bench, "Mikazuki barely seemed to be alive this morning but by the afternoon she looked as if she'd recovered within a few hours, and who was that guy? He seems to be really close to Mikazuki but she's never mentioned about having a friend going to this school. Although he was wearing the school uniform and he looks to be eighteen or nineteen, something doesn't look right. That may be her privacy but somehow it doesn't feel right." He frowned and glanced at his plants, observing their actions as he fed them some of his own energy. _Now everything doesn't seem right, not even Mikazuki's strange behaviour and background. _"Why am I thinking so much when I supposed to be working?" Empty; his pad was empty of his writing. For half an hour he had been pondering about problems that were definitely not related to biology study. There were supposed to be at least four pages of notes on his pad, not a pad naked of figures, observations and most importantly his experiments. Instantly he stood up and walked to his bench and dipped his finger into the soil sample, feeling the hard sand mixed with tiny organisms. 

"Shuichi, can I have a word with you?" a quiet tenth grader asked as his stepped into the laboratory, his slightly rigid posture suggesting his personality. "That is if you have a spare minute."

The red-haired teenager smiled and walked over towards him. "May I ask for your name first?" he enquired politely.

"My name is Iz… Izumi Shingo, I'm a lower year. I just wanted to ask you about… Tsukishiro Mikazuki. I know that what I said and will say is straightforward, I hope you don't mind." Throughout his words Shingo kept avoiding eye contact, only once did he dare to look at Kurama's emerald green eyes but only for a flash.

"I don't mind, not at all." Kurama gestured at the chairs, feeling that the boy may be more comfortable to talk if they sat down.

"I went to Mi… Tsukishiro's junior high school and then I was able to enrol into the same senior school as her. I know that she has been the way she is now since the first day I saw her. I've actually seen you two together several times, although I'm sure many haven't. Have you seen her face before?" 

Letting a moment pass before he answered, Kurama smiled. "To say that I haven't is a lie."

"Is she pretty?" Shingo seemed to relax when he admitted that he had seen Mikazuki's appearance, even his voice seemed to be full of hope.

"Not elegant, not dignified, but quite pretty." His brown eyes sparkled at Kurama's words, and immediately he rummaged through his bag, pulling out his pencil tin, books, followed by a sketch pad. He flipped through the sketch pad until he found a particular page and showed it the Kurama who slowly accepted the sketch pad. The drawing was rough and sketchy, drawn with a dark 4B lead, most likely mechanical pencil. Large eyes conveyed the startled expression while her long hair framed her face. The artist being Shingo had taken a lot of effort to emphasize her eyes and much less effort on the scar which trailed along the cheekbone, vanishing behind the eye. On the bottom of the page there was another drawing with the same subject and this time the expressions were much more peaceful and quiet.

"That's her right?" Shingo interrupted happily, oblivious that Kurama was still studying the work. Kurama confirmed his question and returned the pad back to its owner. "Do you think you can introduce her to me? I really want to meet her, please?" When he saw Kurama's hesitation he supplemented his plea. "It'll be easier if you introduce me. She gives me inspiration to my sketches." 

The boy was telling the truth, for he didn't seem to be one who could lie very well. "Come find me on Monday in this lab at the beginning of lunch, if I'm here it means that she's wanting to see you," he responded and left the desk to resume his work. Thanking him, Shingo disappeared around the corner of the wall. The impact of his shoes hitting against the ground was easily picked up by Kurama's keen senses. To this point he still wasn't absolutely positive whether the boy was totally honest with him or not. 

~*~*~*~ 

Another weekend spent on investigating the possible enemy had led to nothing. They hadn't found any clues so far and yet they were still investigating. Yuusuke had suggested that they let Botan gather them while they relaxed a bit since it was them doing all the fighting, and Kuwabara had heartily agreed to that but Kurama advised against that. It would be smarter if they prepared for a peril that may lie ahead of them. Genkai had sided with Kurama and instinctively, Botan too followed Kurama decision since she didn't want to take on the burden of being the one to find all the information. 

~*~*~*~ 

Monday morning came quite quickly with classes waiting to start at eight-thirty. There was still plenty of time until then so Kurama had decided to wait for Mikazuki at the end of the street. That meant that they could walk to school together and have company until they reached the school gates. He had been there for nearly ten minutes now and still there was no sign of her. A shower of rain started which indicated that the need for the umbrella was necessary. Kurama coaxed the umbrella out of its pouch and opened it, sheltering himself from getting his clothes damp and wet. 

Suddenly a bicycle came flying out of nowhere, the rider wearing a dark blue suit, a contrast from his fiery orange hair which ended just below his suit collar. He wore a pair of black sunglasses, which were incapable of hiding his hazel-brown eyes. What startled Kurama the most was the passenger he had, hugging onto his waist, giggling under the rain as she became saturated while the rain poured heavier. Although she was facing the other way, sitting side-on on the bicycle, he recognised her as Mikazuki. _This is getting stranger and stranger, day by day. Who are all these mysterious characters and how were they linked to her? Before he was able to call out her name, the bicycle had already disappeared, zooming down the street precariously. He glanced at his watch and clenched his teeth together; he wasn't going to be late no matter what. _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama arrived several minutes before class started; entering the classroom once he'd brushed the unwanted drops of water off his blazer jacket. He took a seat by his friends, greeting them with the everyday respect. Jobi tilted his head to look at Kurama and uttered, "We have a casual teacher today. Nikarayagi-sensei's on sick leave. I doubt that she'd be back until next week." 

"Good morning class," a sudden alto voice uttered, calling everyone to his attention. "Your usual computer teacher is away and I'll be taking her place until she returns. My name is Kanari Hiketsu. Please call me Kanari-sensei." The teacher had come in so silently that no one had sensed him approach or even enter the room, only Kurama who was a high level youkai and that was expected of him. How strange, this man was the one who rode the bicycle to school, with Mikazuki. To think that he knew Mikazuki well, then from out of nowhere, there are more and more people surrounding her, barricading him from her. From where he was sitting, Kurama could clearly see his carefree expression, the broad grin and a sort of wildness in him, much unlike the blue-haired man he saw at the infirmary. All Kurama found in him was emptiness and coldness. _Kanari-sensei can't be her brother, could he be a cousin? Flashbacks of the earlier incident ran unexpectedly through his mind. __Could he be her boyfriend…? But he looks to be at the age of twenty-three, how can he be? This is 'so' confusing! _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_This is a long chapter. I never expected to make it this long, I even had to tell myself to finish the chapter off here before I continued to go on. Our favourite kitsune getting frustrate; very cute. I hope you like reading this chapter as much as I did writing. _

_Who are these mysterious characters who pop out of nowhere? Perhaps I'll let Kurama know sometime. =) See-yas! _


	9. The One Mistake

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N:_**_ I'd really like to thank everyone for their reviews! I felt really happy to receive them (I'm a great fan of reviews ^.^) Especially from kikieo hina! Your review was very encouraging and I simply must say that I'm very glad that you've come so far into this story, along with the other readers I have out there. I recently finished watching Flame of Recca and I realised that both names; Mikazuki and Tsukishiro were mentioned in there, although Mikazuki wasn't the name of a character. It was pretty interesting! _

Chapter 9

The One Mistake

Mikazuki ran into the building, drenched like a wet puppy, an orange-haired man beside her, smiling as cheerily as her. "Your hair looks stupid Hiketsu," Mikazuki teased, pointing to the taller man's hair which had been spiked with gel earlier that morning. Luckily no one was around, or they would have believed the pair to be mad fools, joking around when they would easily catch a cold. 

"Your's doesn't look any better than mine," Hiketsu grinned as he brushed his thin wet hair with his hand. 

The teenager merely smiled and looked at him. The water layered on top of her skin and in her clothes was gradually being sucked into her body, showing no trace of being wet at all. Even her hair was dry and in its usual position although her ponytail had fallen low which she redid. "I'm ready to go to class now, _Kanari-sensei. If you would please excuse me," she said innocently and began heading down the corridor._

"Be reasonable Mikazuki!" he growled, gripping onto her shoulder, his wet hand dampening her dry uniform. The wet patch also vanished, along with the water in his suit, all being sucked through Hiketsu's body and into her own. Now that he was perfectly dry, there was only one thing wrong with him; his hair was still as mess as if it had just being ruffled and blow-dried without proper combing. Mikazuki turned around and giggled. 

"I like your hair like that," she commented with another smile. "You look very cute, I should leave you like this." Before he could complain she added in, "But I'll fix it for you." He bend his knees a fraction and let her quickly restyle his hair into what it had looked like before they stormed into the rain. Now he was complete and ready for class. "I'll see you later, _sensei." Without another word, she ran off down the corridor to her locker, not bothering to perhaps show Hiketsu around the school. _

~*~*~*~

When Kurama finally found Mikazuki during break, she was sitting on the windowsill in one of the classrooms, on the third level. One hand was reaching out into the room, collecting drops of water with her palm facing upwards. "Hey Mikazuki," Kurama greeted as he approached her nonchalantly, "Are you busy this lunch?"

She turned to look at him and smiled, "Not at all, why?" There was something about her that he easily distinguished; she was cheerful, very cheerful in fact.

"Izumi Shingo wants to meet you. He talked to me last Friday and asked whether you would meet him," he explained, leaning against the windowsill next to the one she was sitting on. "Will you go?"

Unexpectedly she agreed to meet the boy without a second thought. "Since it's such a beautiful day, I'll go."

"Beautiful?"

"Uh-huh, rain is such a precious thing, its appearance makes my body tingle with joy and when I'm under it, it gives me a carefree feeling that I wish would go on forever. What do you think of it Shuichi?"

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. Rain comes and goes, it never stays in one spot and is usually unexpected if the clouds don't appear. It's a mystery as to where it came from and where it's been. I suppose I like it as it brings growth to plants and vegetation."

"You love plants? I can see that in you. You seem to the type of person who likes roses," she murmured without waiting for a reply. "Plants are green, like your eyes and roses are red, like you hair; perhaps that's the connection." She chuckled jokingly and brushed her wet hand along her arm.

"Perhaps."

"You should go now, I can see your friends looking for you. Your fan club too!" Mikazuki grinned, pointing out of the window and to ground floor. He thanked her and slowly made his way out of the classroom thoughtfully. "Who knows what's ahead in the future? Perhaps roses and water won't be on good terms if water floods the rose," Mikazuki stated, loud enough for him to hear as he slid the door shut. _No matter what, I won't forget your friendship, Minamino Shuichi! _

~*~*~*~

Mikazuki sat in computing class, gazing out of the window a bored expression on her face. The replacement teacher was constantly flocked by the girls who wanted 'help' with their computing project. Although he sent occasional glares at her, she either didn't notice or chose to ignore it. Either way, she was hiding in the corner of the room, separated from the class with the several empty seats around her. She clicked on the mouse several times, opening the media player and turning on the music which was played through headsets. 

Glaring at Mikazuki's back, Hiketsu suppressed the constant urge to childishly stick his tongue at her. So far he was doing quite well avoiding that situation but he was getting irritated by his female students as he tried to control them like playful canines. "Please sit down, I'll assist you individually," he ordered, gaining control of the class once again. He frowned at the position he had chose to be and immediately regretted it. From his laid-back, carefree manner, most people would deem him to be a ladies' man, but actually that was the opposite. He was always the speechless one when it came to impressing ladies. After half an hour of helping the female population of the class, he walked up to Mikazuki and tapped on her shoulder. 

She slowly turned around and stared straight into his eyes, but unfortunately that trick didn't work. Her mask had concealed her face so how would he see her piercing eyes. Instead he would've most likely cracked up when he saw them but luckily for him, he didn't. "Why aren't you working on your computing assessment? It's due in, in two more lessons and it would be smart to use your time wisely," he demanded, keeping a straight face. Everyone was looking at them inquisitively, with the same thought in their minds; was he a courageous guy or just an idiot who didn't know of her infamous personality? Seeing everyone's reactions, she played along and shut the browser she was on and started to work on the blank document. With fourteen minutes left until the end of class, Hiketsu patrolled the class, glancing at different monitor screens. 

~*~*~*~

The bell rang, announcing lunchbreak. All the students were packed and ready to leave the room. "Tsukishiro Mikazuki, can I have a talk with you?" Hiketsu asked in a commanding voice as if reinforcing his higher position. Several students smirked, thinking that she had done wrong and left the room happily for lunch. Once they were all outside, he closed the door behind him and relaxed, sliding out of his stiff posture. "Mika, can I share your lunch?" he begged, leaning against the wall tiredly. "I forgot to order mine."

Mikazuki shrugged and rummaged through her bag for a certain item. She brought out a large lunchbox wrapped in a pink flowery patterned cloth and smiled innocently at him once again. "I didn't have anything else other than this set and you know that I live on a budget," she informed him into a cheery voice that hinted obvious teasing. "I made it for you last night, I hope you like it _Kanari-sensei. See-ya later!" Exiting the room, she left the lunchbox in his hands._

_Now where do I meet Shuichi?_

As if on queue, Kurama appeared and led her to the science lab, taking the direct route there. Neither spoke as they walked and having missed the rush of students, they managed to get there without being noticed. "Minamino Shuichi," Izumi Shingo bowed happily, "I thought that you wouldn't turn up."

Recognising the boy, Mikazuki narrowed her eyes and kept silent as he greeted both of them respectfully. They entered the laboratory and sat down at the desks. Shingo stuttered as he talked but seemed determined to conduct a conversation with Mikazuki. "I'm sorry about last time, I didn't mean it," Shingo apologised, bowing his head once again. She merely nodded in acknowledgement. Kurama stood up and went to attend his plants, letting the pair talk for a while. "I begged Shuichi to let me talk with you because ever since last Thursday, I really wanted to meet you." Showing her his sketches, he triumphantly declared, "You were my inspiration for sketching. I showed my works of you to my friends and they had all said that they were works of a genius. It was your mysteriousness that gave me such great ideas!" Suddenly the door knocked at entered two students. Shingo stopped talking and glanced around to see who it was. 

"Shuichi, here you are!" Raku grinned happily as he headed straight for Kurama. 

But the kitsune was quick enough to push his friends out of the door and close it behind him, cancelling the possibility of them noticing Mikazuki. He led them slowly down the corridor, making believable excuses to his friends. It wasn't something that he had practised often now but he was an expert at deceiving people and demons alike. 

Suddenly smirking, Shingo's voice grew deeper and said with an evil grin, "And now that that human has gone, I have my opportunity to take you down, Tsukishiro Mikazuki; the water element youkai with the potential to control the wildest Fury Whirlpool!" His hands turned into claws, teeth into fangs and his eyes a bloody red. Slashing a claw at her, he missed as her body immediately leapt from where she sat in a split second. The chair slammed onto the ground with a loud crash. A demon from Makai had taken over Shingo's body and was now attacking her! He was coming and if she dodged to the right, she would crash through into the next classroom, and if she dodged to the left, she would spill Shuichi's plants!

~*~*~*~

_There's a demon! How could I have not realised that?! _Kurama thought instantly as he heard the crash and ran back down the corridor, followed by Raku and Jobi. He slammed open the door to see Mikazuki being slammed out of the window, with her back against the glass. The glass had shattered because of the impact and she had gone through the window with the demon. 

Her school bag plummeted to the ground, crashing into the cement roughly. All its contents spilled out and scattered onto the ground. But Mikazuki didn't end up this way, instead she had allowed the demon to push her through the second storey window and into the open where they would be able to fight without having the worry of breaking the school property. She made a flip and landed steadily on her feet. Bringing a hand up to her mask, she smirked and shifted it slightly; the mask fell apart in half and dropped onto the ground. It was then that she realised that she had made a mistake: they were in the open and it was during lunchtime. Even if the rain was still pouring, there were people gathered inside classrooms and they would definitely have heard the glass break. _I'm such an idiot! What's done is done I suppose. She shrugged and dismissed the thought. This demon certainly wasn't an amateur but that didn't mean that he could easily defeat her. Another thought struck her. __Damn it! Shuichi's around and he's running down here at the moment! _

"Standing around won't help you! Now come with me or else I'll have to use force," the demon sniggered, taking strides towards her.

Mikazuki too, grinned. "If you said that I have potential, then would I be easy to defeat?" Fury blinded the demon and it immediately started darting towards her, his sharp claws aimed at her. She smiled, grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back. The demon struck her with her free hand, only to be caught by her other hand and also twisted behind his arm. 

"Mikazuki!" 

_Argh__! It's Shuichi! Letting go of the demon purposely, it turned and scratched her arm, and escaped out of the human body, letting Mikazuki fake a fall onto the ground. Kurama watched as it made its getaway before running to Mikazuki. "Are you alright?" he asked as he lifted her up into a sitting position. _

"My arm hurts a bit," she answered and inspected it before standing up. Once again she was saturated and so was Kurama and the unconscious Shingo. She ran to him and shook him gently. Slowly he woke and stared straight into her blue eyes, slightly mesmerised. "You're awake." He glanced around after Mikazuki broke the eye contact and helped him up. 

"Heh?! Did… did I push you out of the window?!" he asked with a yell, panicking like a child. "Something got hold of me and I couldn't hear anything but I just pushed you out of the window. I'm so sorry!" 

"I'm fine," Mikazuki smiled and shrugged as if nothing had happened. "Only a scratch; no big deal."

Everyone had kept staring at the unmasked figure, their minds in confusion; who was this stranger really, and since when did the top student Minamino Shuichi socialise with her? 

~*~*~*~

Kurama assisted the two under a nearby shelter, then inspecting Mikazuki's small injury. It bleeding a little, and it seemed to be infected with poison. _That cheap demon! Using poison on his nails! _But the poison wasn't strong enough to kill a human. From his pocket, he brought out a small bottle of substance, no taller than a thumb and opened the lid. The young youkai recognised this as one of Kurama's medicines from Makai and knew that he would easily be able to cure her of the poison without her having to waste her own energy. He sprinkled some light green powder onto the wound and closed the lid again. "What was that Shuichi?" Mikazuki asked even though she already knew.

"It's just some powder that will help your wound heal faster. Let's go to the infirmary and bandage it up," he suggested and started leading her into the building. But something he hadn't expected had happened; the nosy students were gathered around them like a crowd. 

"Excuse me, please move aside," a familiar voice ordered in a firm voice. "Out of the way please, and back into the building." Hiketsu appeared through the crowd and lifted his eyebrows at the scene. "Let's take you to the infirmary." 

"Kanari-sensei…" Kurama and Mikazuki uttered at the same time without meaning to. 

"Classes are starting within ten minutes, I want everyone to start going to their next lessons!" he turned and yelled over the students' voices. They obediently turned, often casting a glance backward. Once they were gone, he directed a question to the two boys, "What your names?"

"Minamino Shuichi."

"Izumi Shingo, sensei." 

"Are you two hurt in any way?" He received two 'no's as a reply. "If you have your PE gear, get changed into that. If you don't, then go to the infirmary and ask whether they have spare uniforms." 

"Yes sir." They left and headed into the building, drench from head to toe. 

Hiketsu turned to look at Mikazuki and lifted his eyebrows again. "I guess your secret is out. Are you going to stay here or leave?"

"There's only going to be three more weeks left. There are some things I want to complete and then I suppose my death will come," Mikazuki uttered as casually, as if what she had said wasn't a serious matter. "Let me get my stuff." She ran back into the rain and gathered her scattered belongings. Her books were saturated, the sheets of paper, glued together with ink spilling. She would just have to take them home and spend a few hours restoring them. Walking back to the building to Hiketsu, they headed to the infirmary.

~*~*~*~

When she entered her science class, everyone was staring at her as if she was a new student to the school. She could feel the stares directed at her and so she let her silvery bangs cover her face partially by bowing her head a little. Immediately heading for an isolated desk, she sat down and laid her wet bag on the desk beside her. This science laboratory had a different layout to their usual one. The teacher couldn't conduct a lesson in their usual one because of the broken window and the glass scattered in the room. It was too dangerous and they still had to get people to clear the glass outside the building before they could clear the glass inside the lab. 

Thoughts flowed through his mind, never ceasing to stop coming in. It was still a mystery as to why the demon went after her; perhaps to feed on her soul? That was always a case. There was also some strange reason as to why he didn't jump out and catch her. His mind said that something about her had made him to trust that she would land on her feet. He supposed it was perhaps true. But there was also another thing that bothered him. What she had said; _"Who knows what's ahead in the future? Perhaps plant and water won't be on good terms if water floods the plant." What exactly had she meant? __The more time I spend with her, the less I know about her. He cast a glance back at her, noticing how her bangs covered her face and the way she concealed her emotions. It must've been hard for her these years, hiding under a mask._

~*~*~*~ 

**_A/N: _**_The beginning of the connection between what will happen in Makai! So what does the demon want with Mikazuki? And will our favourite bishi ever find out what's happening around him? __ß__ I just simply love teasing Kurama ^.^ I'm so mean aren't I? But I promise, he'll find out someday and I have a feeling that I should separate this into parts – should I? Ta ta for now,_

_Chibi Tsuki_


	10. Midnight Meeting

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_I don't feel so good… . Flu season is coming in, it's the beginning of autumn here and I'm wrapped in a blanket... I seriously didn't have time to edit this; I'm sorry! I was trying to write this chapter as quickly as I can, and I still couldn't finish it before the 7th. I'm SO sorry Kurama's sis and Kikieo Hina! Happy belated birthday! Btw, I don't intend to write a chapter for everyone's b'day! I'm sorry, but it's too tiring. Let's just say that this is a one-time thing, ok?_

Chapter 10

Midnight Meeting

She dipped her head low as she walked out of the school gate, the clouds parting to allow sunlight through. Those around glanced at her curiously, trying to peer at her facial appearance, but it was mostly covered by her loose long hair, and bangs long enough to hide her eyes and nose. She leapt over a puddle and continued her way home, passing the houses she saw everyday. She heard a familiar cry of distress and quickened her pace into a sprint, jumping over small hedges while trying to hold her loose bangs behind her ear. On the road in front of her house were four canines in a fight, barking and growling at one another. The smaller three ganging on the fourth, brutally attacking it with their teeth and claws. Unable to hold her anger, Mikazuki summoned energy and blasted the three dogs with water, appearing through her fingertips, heading straight at the canines. The unexpected attack definitely shocked them as they staggered to stand up again, running away with whines when they did manage to stand up. Caringly, Mikazuki cradled the attacked canine's head and hurried it inside her house. Once she had closed the door, she began to attend to the few scratches on its neck. "Are you alright Song?" she asked the animal recognised as a wolf. It lay its head on Mikazuki's lap and bared with the pain. 'I'm okay, only minor injuries,' Song replied telepathically. 

"Why did you come? It's so dangerous for you to appear during daytime and you should know better than that," the youkai scolded. 

'I have a message from Makai from your leader. He wants to meet the entire pack tonight, midnight, at the roof of the school building.' The wolf referred the group of youkai as packs, in wolf-terms. 

"Rest Song, rest," she murmured and stroked the creature soothingly on the head, before shifting it to a slightly cooler room. 

~*~*~*~

Gathering the last of the cups and washing them, Mikazuki dipped her hands in the extremely hot water loving the feeling of the water splashing onto her hands. "Isn't the water hot?" Emi asked, casting her friend occasional glances.

"No," she replied in a soft murmur. "I'm finished with the cleaning."

"But you haven't even dried them yet," Emi's voice turned into a soft whisper. The cups were dried and sparkling clean, ready to be put back into the cupboards. "I'm nearly done, you can go first. I'll see you tomorrow evening." 

Mikazuki obliged and left the cafeteria with wandering thoughts. There were many unanswered questions, and perhaps some would be answered tonight. She never completely understood the reason why the demon had wanted her or why he had called her one with potential to control the Fury Whirlpool. Recalling her childhood studies of Makai, she had learnt that the Fury Whirlpool could only be controlled by a youkai the whirlpool selects itself. There were secrets that the whirlpool had prevented everyone from knowing, everyone except its master and those who had tried to conquer it often died pathetically, without the slightest success. The only thing she didn't understand was why the demon had said that she had potential. The last master had died over five thousand years ago, and none had appeared ever since. There was also another thing rumoured about it and that was that the whirlpool itself was actually a dragon in a whirlpool form, appearing before the demons attempting to master it, just before they died. But all these were all rumoured, no one had actually lived to tell the tale. 

~*~*~*~

When she reached her home, no one was inside, nor did she expect the others to be inside. They never stayed for long, following the leader's commands and never disobeying. Everyone respected the leader because he was the one who had saved them, taught them and nurtured them. Without him, they would probably have learnt to live much differently and possibly die in the wild where low-life demons would torture them and kill them because they bullied those weaker than themselves. That was the life in Makai for those who weren't able to find a home; either find a way to life or die.

Dimming the lights, Mikazuki yawned and made herself as comfortable as possible on the sofa, taking the chance to sleep. After having slept for an half an hour, she was woken by a sharp piercing sound, alike a whistle. Song limped out of the room with alerted ears, cautious not to make too much noise. Mikazuki peeped out of the window, seeing a human walking his dog down the street. _It's only a human, nothing to be worried about, she thought, allowing the wolf to hear her thoughts. _I must go now, I feel an eerie presence not far from where we are. Don't make too much noise while you're here. _Acknowledging her pack mate's advice, the Song lay back down on a mat and rested. _

As she walked down the street, Mikazuki kept alert and listened to the night creatures. She could sense a demon not far from where she was and although it didn't seem strong, she knew that it wasn't safe for one of them to be in Ningenkai. Demons without a sense of justice simply killed everything in sight. _Justice? I'm a youkai and I'm going on about justice? It's ironic. _Approaching the youki she felt earlier, she leapt into the trees and let them conceal her. She leapt to another tree with little difficulty and looked down from where she was. Two figures were standing conversing with one another. One was obviously a youkai but the other was a human or perhaps in human form, his ki hidden, making her unable to determine what he was. The youkai was the same one that had taken over Izumi Shingo's body and attacked her. Now seeing his stocky figure and lengthy claws trembling under the supposed human made her smirk. The demon was only a weakling who tried to pretend to be strong in front of others, it was like she had predicted. Unfortunately she wasn't able to see the human's features, only a faint outline of his body. 

"Leave," the human said in a soft toned voice.

"Sakkyoku, I can promise not to-" the demon muttered in a whiney apologetic voice that sounded as if he were about to die. 

"Go, go back to Makai." Again the human's voice was passive, it was confusing as to how he controlled this demon. He must be powerful to make a demon like that cower like it did if he didn't have a commanding voice. The demon bowed its head and slowly made its way out of the area, disappearing into the bushes on the side. When the demon was definitely gone, Mikazuki continued to survey the human. Suddenly he looked straight at her eyes and smiled passionately, moonlight reflected onto the curve of his lips. "Please come down." She wasn't the least bit surprised that he had felt her presence nearby and instead obliged, jumping out of the tree and to the ground. "You're very good at staying unnoticed. The only fault was that your recent injury hasn't be attended to properly," he uttered, pointing to the area where the demon had scratched her earlier that day. "I could smell the infected blood as the wind blew it towards my way."

"But how? I was standing downwind, unless…" 

"Yes I am as you have thought. Make sure you clean your wound properly when you go home." Mikazuki glanced down at her wound and back up again, but he was already gone; the gush of cool wind blowing her bangs behind her ears. That stranger had already earned her respect and was definitely one who would be a worthy accomplice. She was positive that they would meet once again, someday in the future. Running back the way she came, Mikazuki placed a silver mask over her face, this one slightly different to her other mask. The mask was pointed like a bird's beak, covering her eyes and nose, leaving her mouth exposed. As she ran, she transformed into her youkai form, while concentrating on keeping her youki hidden. That was when she had realised that her transformed clothes had been tattered from last time's training in Makai. She currently didn't have time to change not that it really mattered. 

~*~*~*~

Their leader was already there, waiting for them to appear. His back was facing the moonlight, letting the light outline his figure. Mikazuki sprung from the ground floor onto the rooftop, on time like they were expected to be. Her comrades were already there, waiting for the last one to appear. The sound of the door creaking open broke the midnight silence. A figure walked out of the door leading to the rooftop and towards the main group. "You're all here," their leader finally said in a deep and rich voice. He glanced around at the seven figures standing before him, looking attentively. "I'll be brief. We'll gather in Makai on the fifteenth day from today, the enemy knows of our purpose so I want you all to be on guard. The Reikai Tantei has noticed our presence and is starting to get suspicious. Mikazuki, I want you to return as soon as possible, it's no longer safe for you here."

"Yes sir," Mikazuki acknowledged, bowing her head with an arm across her chest. 

"Hiketsu, have you found the information?"

Hiketsu bowed in the same fashion as Mikazuki, replying that he had found a portion of it already. Considering that he had been the Ningenkai for only two days now, his researching speed was definitely rated fast.

"Report when you have found it all." The orange-haired man nodded with another bow. "Kokunai, have you deleted the evidence?"

A man with long black-green spiky hair, dressed in a black singlet and trousers with black wings sprouting out of his back stepped forward and bowed. He spoke telepathically because he couldn't talk normally. His voice echoed through everyone's minds so that they heard what he had said. 

"Good job. I feel the presence of a spy. Mikazuki, Hiketsu, I want you to greet our visitor."

Bowing once again, Mikazuki and Hikestu obeyed the command. The rest of the team disassembled, leaving three people left standing on the rooftop. "Mika, I've brought you some clothes from Makai to replace your torn ones," a blue-haired member of the team muttered, placing a pile of clothes into the shorter youkai's hands. 

"Thank you Iryoku," Mikazuki said, smiling at her friend.  "By the way, did I ever tell you that I realised you were the one who rescued me?" Immediately she ran off to change the clothes, returning shortly after.

~*~*~*~

Kurama took a sip of his personally made herbed tea, to keep him awake while he finished his assignment. He was nearly done with only the summary left to go. This assignment was as easy as pie but it took up a lot of time to gather sources. He glanced out of the window and into his small garden under the balcony and smiled. His garden was growing well, due to his intensive care and often his mother had praised him for keeping the garden so beautiful. Turning to look at a recent photo of his new family, his smiled grew broader. At first he had felt difficulties of adjusting but now everything seemed natural and he now had not only his mother, but a father and brother as well. Although they didn't know him as well as he knew them, he was grateful that they were there. _Huh? _Standing up, Kurama swung his chair out of the way and ran onto the balcony. He jumped off onto the street after confirming his suspicions, running off towards the direction of the school. _I sense trouble… _

~*~*~*~

Shock ran through her veins as she saw them approaching her. It was as if they knew that she had been there since their team had gathered there. If she didn't escape now, she was in deep trouble. Botan called for her oar and hopped onto it, steering it into the sky. Just as she passed the treetops, a cloaked figure struck her onto the ground. "Who are you?" the person behind her asked. He was wearing a black cloth over his nose and mouth, his garments seemed heavy. It was a dark coloured trench coat, ending at his knees, his leather boots clanked on the ground as he walked. His eyes looked serious and his fiery orange hair made him look even scarier. She turned around to look at the youkai in front of her, noticing long silvery ears sprouting out of what she supposed to be a guy's head. 'He' wore a silver mask that covered his eyes and nose, a pull-on black cloak, with plenty folds around the thick collar, spreading more evenly towards his shoulders. His lower arms were covered with thick black leather sleeves, the glove-like thing had clips to hold the glove together. They ended past his knuckles, near the second joint from the knuckles. Botan couldn't see his other clothes properly, but she could see his boots, alike the other man's boots, with two giant clips on the upper half of the boot. 

Fumbling around, she felt her oar, clutched it and swung it at the closer enemy; the shorter of the two. But it was blocked with his foot, doing no damage at all to him. She screamed, trying to distract to the two to create an opportunity for her to escape, but it never came.

~*~*~*~

As he approached the school, he saw a familiar blue-haired girl surrounded by two figures, at the place where the demon and Mikazuki had landed earlier today. Running up to them, Kurama called for his whip and leapt into the sky, lashing his rose whip at both, narrowly missing. Although he missed them, he had accomplished his intention; to separate Botan from the two. With a protective arm across Botan, he glared at the pair, standing in front of him. "What do you want?" he yelled and held the whip defensively in front of his body. Neither of the two spoke, and while they continued to keep silent, Kurama glanced at them thoroughly, trying to think of their possible identity. They looked at each other, the shorter of the two nodded and sprung forward at Kurama, water spurting out of his fingers form a spiral pattern. He smashed his whip at it, unable to break the pattern of water, as its pattern was formed so that his whip was unable to break it. Dodging it, he made sure that Botan had gone to tell Yuusuke while he continued to keep the pair distracted. The water splattered on the ground, and formed a useless puddle on the ground. Currently, he had to keep defending since his enemy never ceased to fire water at him. As his opponent leapt into the air, his long silver hair reminded Kurama of Mikazuki. Nevertheless, he tried to provoke the enemy into talking but his attempts proved useless. 

From the back of his neck, Kurama retrieved another rose. It was an idea that had formed during his mind when he was dodging the enemy's attacks. As the cloaked figure cast another spiral of water at him, he threw the rose like a dart through the centre. It proved to be a good counter when it scraped the enemy's bare arm, causing it to bleed. Luckily for his enemy that he was busy dodging the water, or else he would've noticed his rose breaking the healing skin of a previous wound. But his enemy didn't seem to care much for the wound, and it was amazing how he and his companion didn't team up and fight him. In fact the other was just speculating on his partner's attacks, nodding occasional as if he approved of the attack. It was amazing that these two youkai could be so different in character to most in Makai. 

Now that his attacks were effective against his enemy, his enemy had revealed another technique, using water like fireballs, showing more force than the previous technique. One had scored on his shoulder and proved to be as sharp as ice. Kurama evaded them as best as he could with his whip. Strangely, his enemy's last attack wasn't aimed at him, and when he had realised what it was, Kurama felt the same piercing as before around his ribs. His enemy aimed his attack at a puddle and reflected it back behind him, using the previous puddles to bounce off his attacks. But it was as if he intended to let his attacks scrap Kurama's side instead of letting his attacks hit Kurama full on. The opposing youkai let out a smirk and stood up from his fighting stance and together the pair retreated, just as Yuusuke's voice rang through the night air. 

Judging by their actions, it was as if they hadn't intended to seriously injure him _or Botan. "Kurama, are you alright?" Yuusuke asked as he approached._

The red-haired teenager nodded, and looked at the moon. "I don't know who they are, but they certainly don't seem to want to seriously harm us," Kurama muttered and smiled at Botan and Yuusuke. 

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_I admit, I can't write battle scenes! *sobs* My poor tired fingers… oww… Well anyway, Mikazuki and Kurama have fought and they seem to be even, or is it just because both sides haven't put their full effort into the fight? (Kurama doesn't seem as observant here as he usually is… don't mind me if he's slightly OOC. I'm trying as best as I can! I really am…) What's going to happen when Mikazuki returns to Makai? (I don't have a clue…) Stay tuned for the next episo… chapter of Solitary Mask! (Just love doing that, but it makes me sound like those annoying commentators at the ending of each anime episode.) Bai bai! _


	11. Short Farewell

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_I apologise (again) for the late update. I was away for two weeks during the holidays and I didn't have time to write this. But here it is!_

Chapter 11

Short Farewell

He tore the bandage and wrapped it tightly around her arm, tying it with a knot. Not much blood had managed to flow out of her body but it had to be cleaned and properly dealt with. Iryoku put away the first aid kit and headed to the kitchen, preparing some tea for them all. It had been an interesting night, Mikazuki fighting against Kurama and testing her strength against him. Neither had of the two fighters had unleashed their full limits, in fact both of them were just trying to figure out each others power. But Iryoku had to admit that Kurama was definitely experienced in battle, his sensitivity excelled Mikazuki's but during the fight Iryoku could feel strange vibes emitted from Kurama. They were emotions. Kurama had been worried about something else other than his opponent. Iryoku wasn't a mind reader, he wasn't able to read Kurama's thoughts or in fact anyone else's mind; his ability was to sense emotions and feelings. 

Rubbing her eye with the back of her hand, Mikazuki yawned and parted for her bedroom in her human form. "We'll wake you up before dawn," Hiketsu uttered, smiling cheerfully. When she was finally out of the room and deep into sleep, they sat on the sofa, thinking seriously with only darkness as their company. There were some things that weren't for Mikazuki's hearing, and Iryoku had made sure that by playing a tune on his flute-like instrument, reassuring that she would sleep heavily. "You know why our leader has chosen Mika for his purposes. We all know that she'd been selected since the day he met her, everyone except for her knows why. But the question is how will we protect her afterwards?" Hiketsu murmured the tone of his voice much unlike his usual self. It was low and uncertain. 

His companion replied, "It reminds me of our childhood. All there was in our childhood was continuous training. It never ended… There was never time to play or rest. But Mika's training was just as harsh if not worse, she'd been confined, punished, tormented, starved and yet the current her never shows the emotions that she'd been taught…" Iryoku held his head with both hands, his face scrunched up in distress.

"She does, but it is her nature not to show it. Although she was suffering, she looked up to us. I guess you could say that she wanted to be like you and me because all we revealed to her were our happy feelings, but when she wasn't with us our true feelings showed through.

"All she's learnt is that there's only you and me in her family, not even the leader is close enough to her. She only knows how to obey, and never truly follow her own path." He paused. "She's only a puppet, a confused creature but her actions suggest the opposite. We have had personal experiences with humans and youkai, we know them, but she doesn't.

"If you never knew this, I suppose I should tell you now. The year before she was sent to Makai, our leader taught her to hate humans. His reasons for sending her to Ningenkai was to see their traitorous acts and if he ever gets his hands on that treacherous tape stolen from Reikai, she may turn out to be like him-"

"Sensui…" Together that sat in silence, both thinking alike. "If he shows any interest in that tape, we must prevent him from getting it." 

~*~*~*~

While she walked down the street on her way to school, Mikazuki was deep in thought. In five days she would be 'moving out of the city' and 'going to a different school' because of particular family issues; that was her excuse to get out of school. She needed it to be able to go back to Makai without being the least bit suspicious. Not that the students at her old school liked her anyway. As a matter of fact no one thought of her as 'part of them' anyway. Perhaps except Emi… Maybe it was true; perhaps it was because of her mask which made everyone nervous around her. But then their leader had always said that humans will forever be a youkai's enemy. There is a possibility that he is never knew the other side of humans… A sharp pain seized her temples, making them thunder with immense pain. She groped at her forehead and breathed heavily, her belongings falling from her hands. Mikazuki fell onto her legs and tried to calm her body down. Resting for several minutes on the pavement had helped her relax. This wasn't the first time such an unexpected seizure had attacked her, it's reason was still unknown. 

The bell rang just as she entered the gate, the faded cherry blossom leaves littered the gutter. It was just the end of the cherry blossom season, and the entering of the hotter days of spring. She made her way down the path towards the shoe lockers. By the time she had reached her homeroom, morning prayer was already over and all eyes were staring at her revealed face. No one made a comment, not even the teacher who merely pointed her to her seat. Her blue eyes were looking at no one in particular, but for some reason the students were staring at them with curiosity.  

By the time it was lunch, she had hidden herself in a new hiding spot; on the rooftop of the school where no one usually went. It was too hot to be up there but Mikazuki easily coped with the heat which gave her the privacy she wanted. But then her intentions to be alone were shattered. "Hey Tsukishiro, now that your mask is gone, you look no more intimidating than a rabbit," a girl said, twisting her long brown curls with her fingers. She was one of those who were known as a bully; never letting others have their way when she's around. "Hand over your most prized possessions and we'll let you off today." Her group surrounded Mikazuki, grinning like Cheshire cats. Mikazuki glanced up at her, wincing slightly from the sun's rays that flashed into her eyes. Taking the bottle of water from beside her, she offered it to the leading girl. "I don't want your stinking bottle of water! Don't take me for a fool." The bottle of water was batted out of her hands, and wasted on the concrete floor. Concentrating on retrieving the water through her ability, she ignored the warnings given to her. "You're not even listening to me, you disrespectful thing!" The sent a kick at the youkai which was immediately caught with a deadly grip. The area around it started swelling pink but then Mikazuki let go; she had no intentions of killing a human; just not at the moment. 

"Mikazuki," Kurama's voice sounded as he walked up to the rooftop, pausing when he saw the situation.

"Minamino Shuichi! Look at what Tsukishiro did to my leg, it's swollen and hurts a lot!" the girl whined, obviously sucking up to the handsome gentleman who had shown up. She was using one of the most popular flirting techniques; trying to get the boy's sympathy. But Kurama paid no attention to that and instead noticed Mikazuki's blank stare. She was deep in thought, making him wonder what was going through her mind. Returning back to normal, Mikazuki greeted Kurama cheerfully as he grabbed her by the hand and led her down the stairs, leaving a group of speechless girls. 

"Where are we going Shuichi?" He stopped in front of a classroom door and looked right into her eyes.

"Those girls were bullying you, did they hurt you in any way?"

Mikazuki shook her head, "They didn't do anything. I'm perfectly fine." He smiled in relief and together the two held a conversation in the empty classroom. _Why am I getting so protective of Mikazuki? I've only known her for nearly two months and it seems as if something about her has attracted me to be her friend, a close friend. _

~*~*~*~

Just as she was walking to the gate to meet Kurama, Mikazuki was stopped by the girls she had encountered during lunch. "You're not going anywhere until I settle a score with you!" the girl yelled and  immediately two girls grabbed Mikazuki by her arms and dragged her away to the old school gym which had been used for sword practise. A wooden sword was thrown in Mikazuki's hands and the only light available was the afternoon sunlight which was barely sufficient. "How dare you hypnotise Shuichi with your demon powers, Tsukishiro! Today, I represent every girl in the school who is a fan of Minamino Shuichi and I will punish you! Just remember my name when you realise my superiority. My name is Shisseki Rika!" Rika was wearing the uniform for the sword club; looking rather professional. She held her sword up in an attacking stance, ready to charge at her opponent. Looking slightly confused, Mikazuki held the sword in same position and as Rika who came flying straight at her. Mikazuki avoided the attack, slipping to the side, cowering. Rika swung her sword expertly at Mikazuki; feinting an attack before going for the knees. The youkai dodged the attacks by jumping up and crashing into the girl on purpose; tipping them both over. Others around them laughed, clutching their stomachs before toppling over. 

"Get off me!" Rika yelled as she pushed the silver-haired person off her, a crimson blush racing across her face. When both were standing readily again, Rika waited for her opponent to be the first to attack; but they ended up circling each other, causing Rika great fury. This time, she approached with precaution and lunged at Mikazuki who once again ducked from the assault. "Stop running away! I've seen you during sport class. I _know _that you know the basics!" Mikazuki stood up and chuckled; the fading light giving her a sinister and deadly look. "If you want me to play this _game_ properly, then you'll have no chance in winning." She gave her opponent an evil grin, flashing her fangs at Rika. It could give even one of the bravest humans a chill through their bones. The match ended quickly as Mikazuki sliced through her opponent's clothes, shredding them with her wooden sword. Rika's clothes had been turned into pieces of fabric; no longer usable except for washing rags. "Evaluate your opponent's ability next time," she smiled, her voice no longer wild and chilling as before. The small group of five stood utterly speechless in the gym as Mikazuki left, a placid and innocent look on her face. 

Kurama looked at his watch, leaning casually against the gate while he waited. His companion was currently ten minutes late and she still hadn't turned up yet. "Sorry Shuichi, I got held up a bit but I'm ready to go now." He smiled at the voice's owner and shrugged as if he had only just arrived. Maybe cleaning the homeroom took longer than necessary and that often happened. 

~*~*~*~

That night she'd told Emi about her departure to another city due to 'family problems' and apologised about the sudden need to quit working at the cafeteria. Mikazuki didn't even accept that month's payment when it was offered to her. This affected Emi much more than Mikazuki as Emi had to look for another employee since one of hers was leaving. But it seemed as if Emi understood her situation perfectly and they would have possibly been chatting over a mug of tea of coffee if they hadn't been so busy with customers. 

~*~*~*~

It was already the fourth day since they'd met up with the two youkai but they still hadn't found out their intentions nor have they attacked again. Currently it was very frustrating for Kurama, having to cope with the enemy, school and boys who were hitting on Mika when they realised that the girl they had been prejudiced against was actually quite pretty. At least the bullying had stopped even though he didn't know how she had done it, but he knew that she was strong enough to oppose those trying to bully her. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even realise Mikazuki sliding up beside him and propping her elbows on his desk. It wasn't until she started tickling the bridge of his nose with her hair that he noticed her. "Sorry Mikazuki, I didn't see you there," he apologised and rested his chin against his palm. "There are so many things in my mind recently that I haven't been paying much attention."

"I understand. I understand you perfectly," Mikazuki muttered, leaning against his desk for support. "We all have problems, coping with school and personal things, but I'm sure you'll be able to get through all of this, someday." They stayed in silence for sometime. "Um... Shuichi, do you want to see a movie after school?" Mikazuki asked, twirling her hair with her fingers. 

The bishounen sighed as he neatened his pile of books. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy this afternoon. How about tomorrow? I'm free tomorrow," he suggested.

"I'm not available tomorrow. Maybe next time if we ever get the chance," she smiled rather falsely and slid off his desk, lacking her usual enthusiasm. "I'll see you later. I know we'll meet again, one day." Quickly, she embraced him with a hug and darted out of the classroom, racing back to her own homeroom. A suddenly confused expression escaped him as he stared at the figure flying out of the door. _There's something wrong with her, I can sense it. Just as he was about to exit the room, his friends surrounded him, led by Jobi and Raku. _

"We saw Tsukishiro running out. She looks upset, what did you do to her?" Jobi demanded. "Did you just reject her?" When he received a blank stare from Kurama, he immediately held him by the collar. "How dare you reject her! I'm not going to let you get away with reject such a cute girl, it's against my policy!" Beside him, Raku pointed out how Jobi originally had been gossiping about her. 

~*~*~*~

_Why am I getting upset over something so stupid? Why would I care that he's busy and can't come with me to watch a movie today? I hate these feelings! I hate these weak emotions! _Her classmates had already finished homeroom cleaning and afternoon prayer was about to begin. Hiketsu walked in and since he was their substitute homeroom teacher, he was the one to dismiss the class. Everyone stood behind their desks and waited for him to deliver the last notices of the day. During the entire time, Mikazuki's mind was off somewhere else, thinking about what had happened a while ago. She hadn't even noticed that everyone had left the classrooms, except Hiketsu who was waiting for her. _Could it be because of that that makes me so upset? Could it be that I like him? _She felt pain running through her body, as if her muscles and tissues were burning. Her temples started throbbing again and her forehead became surprisingly hot. It was that seizure again; the one that would never leave her alone. Immediately, Hiketsu was beside her, lowering her onto a chair. 

"I feel as if my body's on fire," Mikazuki murmured, gripping onto his arm. "It hurts."

"Don't think about anything, try to blank out your mind. We'll be home tonight, let that feeling relax your mind," he instructed while soothingly stroking her hair.

"Home…" 

~*~*~*~

Approaching his science room, Kurama frowned at the conversation he'd just heard. "Apparently Tsukishiro's moved to another town. Do you think she left because we saw her face?" 

"I kind of doubt that, or else she would've left earlier."

"I heard it was because of family problems. Kanari-sensei has also gone, now that Nikarayagi-sensei's back." 

Kurama sat at his desk, clutching his head in his hands. _Is that why she asked me to the movies yesterday? Is that why she hugged me and said that we'd meet again? Why didn't I realise that? Kurama why could you be so insensitive?! _

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_What's with all those seizures and doesn't Kurama realise that Mikazuki's leaving? (Obviously not) Does Mikazuki like Kurama? Or is it just infatuation? - (changed from lust) I was half asleep when I wrote that part. I didn't mean 'lust'! (Read too much Shakespeare.) Thanks for pointing it out! Hopefully there'll be more serious action in the next episode and not just beating up bullies. _


	12. Determination

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_Half yearly exams are coming up on Monday and I still haven't finished studying . eek! Couldn't think of anything good for this chapter's title so you'll have to deal with it… … ^.^;; __ß__ going all random once again._

****

Chapter 12

Determination

Unable to get himself to eat, Kurama picked at the rice with his chopsticks, letting the clumps of sticky rice fall back into the container again. To get his mind of the departure of Mikazuki, he started thinking about the mysterious pair of youkai he encountered a week ago. If he remembered correctly, his opponent had silver hair and ears, much like his own youkai form, except the ears were slightly different. His own youkai ears were pointed in diagonally, in a direction more horizontal than vertical, whereas his opponents had ears points nearly vertically. If his assumption was correct, then his opponent was a wolf-type youkai. His tail was another piece of evidence. But why were they there and what exactly did they want? Surely not another group wanting to destroy mankind! Kurama had a feeling that he would meet them again, but before then he would have to investigate all he could about them. 

"Hey Shuichi, you've been so reserved these few days, what are you thinking about?" Raku asked, pointing his chopsticks at Kurama with a cheeky grin. They were seated inside a classroom, having home packed lunch boxed on their desks.

"Nothing really," Kurama said, waving his arms stiffly. When Raku returned to his conversation with the others, Kurama sighed and glanced out of the window like Mikazuki usually did. _Mikazuki, I wonder what you're doing at the moment… _

The door slid open and one of his classmates stated, "Minamino Shuichi, there's a girl who wants to see you."

"Botan?" he murmured before casually greeting her. He signalled for the blue-haired girl to follow her out into the quieter section of the corridor.

"That girl must be new, I've never seen her around," the boy who had brought Botan to Kurama uttered with a shrug. 

~*~*~*~

Looking at her straight in the eye, Kurama sensed that she had something not so good to inform him. "What's the problem?"

Botan replied in an unusually quiet manner, "The recently formed youkai gang Kokudo are planning to approach the Fury Whirlpool. The two youkai we encountered last time were from that gang. It seems that over the past thirty years, they have been training youkai with the intention to master it. Although it is easy to assume that their attempt will be futile, but the powerful groups within Makai are trying to persuade Kokudo's water elemental user to join their legions. Some have even gone as far as to trying to kidnap him."

"Water elemental user? So would it be the youkai I fought last time?"

"The possibility is rather high."

"Does he have a name?" Kurama knitted his eyebrows, thinking seriously. His green eyes were staring at nothing in particular but his mind was focussed on his previous fight. 

Botan shook her head as she replied, "We only know that they label him as Tsuki (moon), for he has a specialty in restoring energy from water bodies into his own body through reflected moon rays."

"He's a wolf-type youkai." Just as Botan was about to speak, he continued, "Our enemy is a weapon user, and I would think the choice of weapon would be either a thin-bladed sword or something lightweight-"

Suddenly Botan grabbed a round blue device with the shape of a pikelet from her pocket and opened its thin lid. A small screen appeared under the lid, a familiar face on the screen. "Koenma?" she muttered as she addressed the toddler. 

"Come back immediately, I need you to investigate something for me," Koenma said seriously. From the tone of his voice, Kurama could feel the urgency. Botan shut the lid and apologised, leaving immediately on her oar. Kurama merely watched as she left at full speed, whizzing pass the clouds until she could no longer be seen. He returned to his room and sat back down at his desk. That was when he noticed several girls smiling at him with their flirty body movements. Right at this moment, he was not in the mood to conduct a conversation with anyone, but he definitely didn't let his emotions show it. 

 ~*~*~*~

Slowly getting up from her fall, Mikazuki snatched her double bladed sword from the ground and stared straight into her opponent's eyes. She changed one of the blades so that together, they formed a right angle with its only hilt connecting them. The weapon was lightweight, having two blades, both able to be rotated three hundred and sixty degrees to the user's preference. Like most weapons, it is not easily mastered and can be hard to control.

Hiketsu stood there, holding his heavy bladed sword with one had as if it weighed nothing more than a feather. Both fighters fell into an attacking stance again, ready for an on-coming attack from the other. Between her fingers were three hidden shards of ice with sharp and ragged edges. With her other hand; her left hand, she flung her double bladed sword like a boomerang at him. Immediately, Hiketsu dodged it but he definitely didn't expect the assault of the fragments of ice which he hastily blocked with the flat-side of his blade. At his left, Mikazuki's weapon came flying back, managing to scrap his arm but during this time, she had vanished. A shadow flew over, catching the weapon by its hilt with one of its blades resting against the neck of the flaming-haired man. "Smart manoeuvre," Hiketsu chuckled as she withdrew her sword, "but you've failed to realise that I've scored an attack on you." He pointed to the torn area on the leg of her britches. 

"Now I'll have to mend this…" Mikazuki sighed as they made their way back to the old worn-down shack they took refuge in. "But before that, I'm getting a bath!" She waved at him just before she darted through the shrubbery and trees to one of the cleanest lakes in Makai. The area surrounding it was peaceful and quiet with her clothes lay in a pile next to her sword while she dived into the clear sparkling water. Water splashed onto the dry bank. _This is life… The young youkai smiled, relaxed as she leaned against a rock, twirling her index finger in the water. Slowly the temperature of the water dropped. Taking the water creatures in consideration, she made sure that the water wasn't too cold for them. This was a nice way to relax the sore muscles and wash off the dirt and sweat. The water caressed her skin, each little molecule wanting to meet her. _

~*~*~*~

A rustle of leaves redirected her attention. With her left hand stretching for her clothes and weapon, she pulled them into the water and disappeared underwater altogether. Cautiously a man made his way to the edge of the pond and lowered his hand to scoop up some water. His right arm was injured; blood seeping through his already bloodied bandages. The clothes he was wearing were torn to shreds and his tangled blue-green hair was a total disaster. His frame was slender and slightly under five feet seven. Unmistakable red and yellow stripes were visible on his pale skin, they were markings inherited by his ancestors of an ancient and nearly extinct clan. He quickly bent down to wash his face, scrubbing off the grim as best as he could. 

Mikazuki smirked at his roughly scrubbed cheek which was nearly as red as his red stripe that ran straight across the bridge of his nose. She continued to peer up at him from under the water's surface. It was about time for her to leave now that she had skilfully pulled on her clothes underwater. Judging by the appearance of this youkai he seemed too wounded to be able to attack her if she were to leap out. So she sprung out onto a rock and used it to push off, flying onto a thick branch nearby before leaping off once again. The stranger suddenly grinned and flung his arm at her direction, catching onto her ankle and dragging her down. 

Although she couldn't see it, she knew that something had wrapped around her ankle. She gripped one of the branches with her freehand and glanced at the creature she had assumed to be wounded. This was set up! They knew she was there at that time! Thinking straight, Mikazuki noticed the thin fishing wire wrapped around her boot and slashed at it with her sword, freeing herself. Immediately she scanned around for her attacker again, realising that he had vanished. She predicted that he would appear either above or behind her but instead she found him coming up from below. Before she had the chance to dart away, he had seized the opportunity and slashed at her with a dagger. The sharp sound of the two bladed weapons smashing into each other could be heard and the smaller dagger was gaining the upper hand. He pressed down on his dagger, causing her to bend further back. Realising this, Mikazuki used the moisture around them to her advantage and created a fog. She twisted her sword to the right-hand side and broke the contact. 

Not one to back off a fight, she ducked at leapt at him again, slashing her sword against his side. As she passed him, she caught the scent of mint from under the heavy stench of dried blood. _Where have I smelt that type of mint before? _ Mikazuki sensed his attack and dodged to the side. They were now on ground level and not too far from the lake. She twirled two fingers three times and then pointed at her enemy with them. Almost instantly a surge of water gushed out from her fingers and headed straight at her opponent. It was a miss but she hadn't intended him to continuously stand there and let her launch an attack so she had planned for it to be a decoy. Her sword with both blades open was leaning right against his throat. "Who are you and who sent you here?" Mikazuki demanded, her mask sheltering her blue eyes from him. The defeated youkai refused to answer and merely glanced away, a stubborn look on her face. It reminded her of someone… someone she had long since forgotten. Blood tricked from his freshly opened wound and yet he refused to speak. His stubbornness proved to be a great challenge. "I don't like killing those who are in a weak state so I won't kill you," she admitted with a slight grin. "I'll even treat to your wounds and leave you to go free, but don't expect me to let you capture or kill me." Without coming in contact with him, she managed freeze his movements by transferring a certain type of water through his wound, tying his muscles together in some obscure way. Then she laid him on the bank of the lake and started the process of cleaning his wounds by ripping her outer shirt and using it as a rag. Her enemy's shirt was stuck to his wounds and so she had to gently peel it off in case it costed him more pain. After managing to do so, she dabbed the damp cloth gingerly over his cuts and wiped the blood off.

In the end she had to rip most of her outer shirt just to bandage his wounds. Luckily she had cleaned them when she pulled them into the water or else the cuts would probably get infected again. She stood up and spoke one last time before leaving. "You'll be able to move in another fifteen minutes but if you try anything before that you'll feel pain in your muscles and probably won't be able to move for a few days. When you're better, we'll have another battle." Jumping through the treetops she left him leaning against the tree waiting for the time to pass. 

Mikazuki examined her ruined shirt and decided that she was very fortunate to have chosen to wear some old clothes instead of the ones Iryoku had especially made for her. Her mind was currently set on improving her own fighting techniques, nothing else mattered for now…

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_So Kurama's gathering more information and Mikazuki's determined to improve before 'that day', when will they meet again? I'm glad I typed most of this up before today's basketball game… *points to swollen fingers* ^.^;;; Anyways…  _


	13. The Summoning

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_It's up, it's up, it's finally up! I'm sure you have all been waiting long enough for this chapter. I must admit that the last chapter was rather crappy and it didn't really hold much relevance to the story. It was more like a filler… That tape mentioned in chapter 11 (I think) is actually the tape from the original series. It's translated as 'The Black Chapter' and it had on it the footages of the sickly things that human have done to the demons. I'm not going to say more in case I spoil it any further for anyone. _

****

Chapter 13

The Summoning

His jet black trench coat contrasted his flaming red mane which was tied up conveniently in a ponytail and his striking green eyes, held a sense of seriousness. Kurama entered the old rundown shack which was the Reikai Tantei's meeting area. He scanned the place and headed towards a man cloaked in black, dark spiky hair unable to conceal the third eye on his forehead. Sitting at the only table inside, Kurama greeted the man quietly. Neither were in the mood for anything. For five days the last five, they had been trying to gather information of the whereabouts of Kokudo, but to their dismay, none were successful. Kokudo's operations were to commence the in two days and if they weren't able to halt them in their footsteps then trouble may sound all three worlds once again. The members were arriving one by one, each with as little as they had started off with. Nothing seemed to be right. Being the last to step in, the Reikai Tantei captain approached them immediately noting their gloomy faces. "I guess no one has had any luck," he mumbled, sitting beside him. At the end of the day, they retired to their makeshift beds and rested their tired bodies. Unable to sleep, Kurama sat on his bed and leaned against the window sill, staring outside with the only light being moonlight. Night in Makai was much different to Ningenkai. They were much longer and there were three moons; a shadowy blue one, a minuscule yellow one and a white one. Noticing a thin layer of smoke billowing from the forest outside of the long-abandoned village, he let his eyes follow the smoke rise into the vacant space up above until it dispersed. Most youkai never relied on those outside of their village or gang unless for special circumstances. Every youkai that didn't have a gang lived as a loner which was often a harsh life. In Makai there were also those that lived alone by will and others who lived alone but had connections with assorted groups. This was how life was in Makai. Thinking of camping suggested to Kurama that the Kokudo would also have to be camping in the area for the tunnel that led to the Fury Whirlpool was not far from the village. They could either guard the tunnel or search for their camping area. Or perhaps the camp in the forest was theirs, but now was not the time to be rash. Quietly he made his way out of the shack, careful not to wake the others. Jumping down beside him was the three-eyed fire demon. He had been up sleeping in the branches and seemingly had the same idea as Kurama. They nodded at each other and went to the camping area separately. 

~*~*~*~

_Somehow I don't think this will be as easy as it seems. _Kurama leapt through the trees, using the branches as leaping stones. He slowed down as he approached the camping grounds and listened for any warnings. Just as he straightened his position he heard a strange melody that was almost soothing. Before he was caught by this trance, Kurama stuffed a seed into each ear as replacement earplugs to block out the sounds. If he had listened to it for a second longer it could've hypnotised him. All he could hope now was that Hiei could avoid it. Transforming a rose into a thorny whip Kurama gathered it in his hand and brushed the leaves aside gently with the back of his hand. 

"I see we have a guest," said a voice in a calm, gentle tone. "Come out little one." Kurama relaxed his tensed muscles slightly as the speaker moved to pick up an object of the ground. From his position, he noticed a small bundle of fur in the unidentified man's arms. He was a man with a slender frame and long sweeping dark red hair that ended just above shoulders. He wore a loose green shirt that revealed his chest and a small gold earring on his left earlobe. His lower arms were bound with bandages that ran all the way around his wrists and hands. "Hey- huh? Where'd she disappear to at this time?" The man sighed and simply shrugged, leaning against the rock while holding the creature in his arms. It whimpered and leapt out of his arms, following a trail while wagging its bushy tail. 

"She's down at the lake," a monotonous voice mumbled. 

"Again?" The man laughed softly. Kurama glanced around, trying to find the second person but unfortunately he couldn't be seen. For a moment he recognised that voice but he didn't have the time recall where from for another character appeared suddenly out of nowhere, landing on a pile of wood. Covering the moons once again, the only light available was emitted from the campfire. The third person had long hair tied up in a ponytail and a small frame visible in his or her thin layers of shirts. Although Kurama could only see the back, he assumed that the newcomer was a he, considering his swinging tail and pointy ears; he must be the one, the wolf youkai. A sudden bark startled Kurama. Behind him was a small creature no bigger than a domestic cat, wagging its tail. It licked his fingers and happily took off towards the direction of the campfire. He turned back around upon hearing laughter as the shortest youkai picked up the animal. "Come on kid, you'd better rest for the big days ahead," the first man said as he threw another log into the fire. Lying beside the fire, the young youkai grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself, the animal snuggling right in beside him. It made Kurama wonder whether his enemy was actually as threatening as he had once assumed. He glanced up at the tree in which Hiei had used to hide and noted his poise. The three-eyed demon was just about ready to strike, waiting for the other two to settle down. The red-haired man leaned against the tree trunk, closing his eyes while the remaining youkai stayed on watch. They seemed to be prepared for any ambush. Impatiently Hiei slipped out of the tree and landed next to the campfire, kicking the log into fire. The fire flared up more for a moment before dying back down again returning to its former state. Against three, Hiei had a dim hope of winning. Immediately joining his comrade, Kurama stepped into the battle, his whip cracking the ground. To his surprise, the sleeping form lying on the ground didn't wake up. But the animal he had figured to be a wolf pup was very much frightened. It whimpered and crept closer to the still masked youkai. The other two stood up and stared at them, glancing at them from head to toe before taking up their weapons. Kurama looked at the man he couldn't see before, noticing his familiar appearance. It was then that it clicked in his mind; the young man from the infirmary. _No wonder, I should've guessed that he wasn't from around, _he thought, mentally scolding himself.

~*~*~*~

Instantly launching themselves against the enemy, Hiei and Kurama fought strategically, a one on one battle. This meant that both were occupied leaving them no time to escape or launch a sneak attack. Kurama flung his whip towards the blue haired man, trying to test his abilities. But the man merely dodged left and right, blank expression planted on his face. His dark coloured cloak hung heavily on his shoulders, concealing the type of weapon on his belt. Nevertheless, Kurama didn't feel any less secure as he flicked the whip upwards at him, tearing past the opponent's shoulders. 

Hiei blocked his opponent's sword with his own, a metallic 'clang' ringing through the area. Neither was exerting his true power into the fight. It was then that Hiei noticed the sleeping youkai was far from the protection of his fellow comrades. Their main goal was to diminish the Kokudo's plans and what's better than sacrificing the potential one to cause all this? This time, Hiei added more strength into his attacks, diverting his enemy's attention. Once the chance came Hiei swiped at him one last time before pushing off a branch and flying straight at his target with his sword in hand. His speed was incredibly fast. One would die from the impact of hitting the ground if they weren't skilled enough to avoid a harsh crash into the rocky surface. He was now only a metre away, there was no way that either of the wolf-youkai's companions could save him. He suddenly made a short gasp. 'Clang,' the sound of two swords clashing against each other sounded. Retreating, Hiei leapt back and studied the person facing him. He looked so familiar, but from where? The last time he saw someone alike him was… when he was with Mukuro on patrol! But that person was a girl and the one standing before him was a guy, how did this work… unless… Hiei was given no time to think further for his new opponent struck him with little hesitation, holding that deadly looking double-bladed sword in his right hand. His long hair blew wildly as the wind began to pick up, his ears twitched, once, twice. Again, he struck at Hiei with moderate strength as if he had never intended to fight seriously. But Hiei was confident he could easily defeat him. 

Just as their weapons were disconnected from each other, his enemy jerked backwards and darted straight at the whimpering wolf pup, collecting it in his arms before a dart immediately struck the ground where the animal used to be. It was a close call. Any later and the creature would've been history. 

Together they looked up at the sudden attacker, realising the unfamiliarity. The masked youkai changed the form of his weapon in some way and thrust it at the smirking demon, slicing it in half. The demon was merely a low-levelled creature, hired to do dirty work for a low pay.

Feeling the presence of unwanted guests, Kurama leapt towards Hiei so that their backs were against each other. A gang of around fifty or sixty demons surrounded them, each looking disgustingly ugly in their disturbing figures. They smirked in the most stupid and sly fashion, baring the blades of their weapons to their opponents. Kurama watched as their enclosed the circle around the five youkai. The biggest demon leading the gang chuckled and scrapped his two knives against each other, yelling with an overly-confident voice, "Get them! I want them dead!" Together the mighty group launched at the defending five, lashing their weapons at them as if it was a massacre. Continually, the quintet struck the advancing demons down with few slashes, their blood spilling everywhere. Nevertheless they got up again and attacked as if their lives depended on their defeat. Glancing around, Kurama looked desperately for their target, realising that the trio were nowhere to be seen. For a moment he lost concentration and didn't notice the shadow gliding down at him from above, dagger ready and waiting. But before he had time to react, a thin, clear, dart-like object flew straight at the unidentified shadow with great speed. The figure instantly flinched as the sharp edge scraped his hand, splitting the skin. It retreated, dodging the darts skilfully, escaping into the trees. 

Kurama looked to his left where the flying object came from and saw the wolf-youkai facing his direction with a subtle smirk on his face, accompanied by his other comrades. "Don't die Kurama, we're expecting to see you in the future!" yelled the taller man in a calm and cheerful voice. Immediately they departed, disappearing from the area within seconds. 

"Let's go Kurama," Hiei uttered in a monotone. The demons they had identified as bandits had been instantly slain.

~*~*~*~

For the fifth time, the red-haired youth replayed that scene in his head where his target had saved him. That mysterious figure was definitely not a low-classed demon. Those demons were just decoys, attracting their attention while that skilled and experienced figure was the real deal sent by the mastermind to kill him. _There are two possibilities; one is that the trio and the assassin aren't on the same side or two, they are in the same team except the trio are acting. But why would they do that? And why do I often think of Mikazuki when I see that youkai with the long light-coloured hair? And why did he risk his life for a simple demon-beast? Also, the melody he had heard was directed towards them, meaning that their enemies were much more experienced than he had originally assumed._

~*~*~*~

Mikazuki held the wolf pup closer to her, mind-speaking to it with soothing words. The wolf was a demon-beast with the ability to transform into a much more powerful and perilous form. Demon-beasts usually wandered around in Makai, some along with others of the same type, some finding worthy partners in a youkai. They did as they wished and refused to be controlled by others. They didn't have owners, only partners and friends. That was their way of living. The young youkai stroked her nameless friend who constantly reminded her of her close friend, Song as she tuned into her senior's instructions. Izure was a gentle, kind and charming young man who was currently eight years her senior. In fact, the dark red-haired man was much like her; a youkai mixed with human blood, an outcast from his own kind. Actually, basically everyone in their clan was. Although not a single member was bonded by blood, they were bonded by something else that brought them even closer together; the fact that they had potential and they were all mixed youkai with the label, 'outcast' imprinted into their names. Mikazuki glanced at Iryoku, the cool and quiet one. He was never one to publicise his feelings and emotions to those whom he barely knew. He always acted cool and emotionless towards them. But when among his close friends and comrades, he often displayed his caring and affectionate side especially to the youngest one of the gang whom he was always delighted to be near. 

"We're meeting up with our leader tomorrow?" Mikazuki asked, her voice rather quiet and soft. Izure nodded in silence. "I guess that means we get to see the others again and perhaps this time we can catch up with each other." This time, her voice grew much more cheerful than before. She fiddled with her gold earring subconsciously and indicated her sleepiness. The trio searched for a more comfortable area to rest, finding an uninhabited cave. Mikazuki leaned against Iryoku's shoulder and immediately fell asleep. 

~*~*~*~

It was already an hour past dusk and the youngest of the Kokudo gang stepped into the tunnel, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the tunnel. The walls were wet and the tunnel was just big enough for her to walk through without bending her knees. She could hear the faint sound of water coming from the other end. At the end of the tunnel was a dead end; a bridge had once connected to the other side of the wide gap below but that had collapsed, leaving a small ledge. Mikazuki studied the distance between the ledge she was standing on and the platform directly in front of her. It was about the length of two normal sized buses, an easy jump for one with experience. Icicles hung from the high ceiling, dangling dangerously as if they were ready to fall. Below were large spikes, made out of ice with their points reaching up for their victims. If one was to fall down, they would slip into a cruel and bloody death. Individually with Mikazuki leading, they leapt across to the other side, using their own routes according to their own abilities. Once on the other side, they reached a magnificent spiralling staircase formed by uneven ice ledges, ascending with the little light they had. It was almost pitch black ever since they stepped into the second tunnel. They soon arrived at a chamber with six alternate entrances. Using her keen smelling senses, she led them through the passage second from the right without pausing in hesitation. Izure used the tip of the fingers and tested the substance on the wall; it was cold just as he had suspected. He sniffed at his fingers, noticing the pure smell of water. "It'll take us slightly less than an hour to get there," Mikazuki informed, "if we travel at the same speed. But I'm positive that the track will be more dangerous as we go on." The group took the information into consideration and continued on their journey.

~*~*~*~

Upon stepping into the entrances of several different passages, the Reikai Tantei froze, noticing a sweet scent. "Don't inhale the scent!" Kurama yelled once he realised what it was. Everyone clamped their mouths and noses immediately with their hands and looked nervously at their team mate. But it was slightly too late; his comrades had already fallen prey to the strange scent. He noticed their weakening bodies, collapsing on the floor. With luck, Yuusuke was fast enough to avoid it and so the two helped their comrades down the stairs near the tunnel entrance, laying them against the cold stone walls, waiting for the substance in their bodies to wear off. Kurama explained to them that the scent carried a powder that could easily paralyse someone once they breathed it in. Unless one's body could tolerate such a strong powder, they could definitely be paralysed by it, unable to move for about two hours, one and a half if you're lucky. Now that Kuwabara, Hiei and Botan were in such a state, Kurama and Yuusuke were the only ones left to carry out the mission. "Yuusuke, your body seems to be immune to the powder," Kurama uttered as they raced through the maze, having lost twenty precious minutes already.

Grinning cheerfully, Yuusuke replied, "Not really, I just happened to be eating a bread roll and my nose was blocked after having a bleeding nose from walking into the wall." 

Kurama smiled weakly, asking himself, _is that guy just really lucky or plain stupid? As he was running, Kurama smelt another scent; this time it wasn't dangerous, just simply very familiar. He remembered smelling the fragrance while he was standing near someone. It was the beautiful and sweet fragrance of the Madonna Lily. __I know where I've smelt this scent recently. It was the first time I met Mikazuki; inside the classroom. She always smelt of lilies and although it was faint, I could smell it… Smiling at the thought, he didn't notice his companion slowing down. "Kurama, did you hear that?" Yuusuke asked with a serious expression on his face. The red-haired bishounen gasped, barely audibly; something was wrong. Without further delay, they rushed on desperately. _

~*~*~*~

Approaching another chamber, Mikazuki's face suddenly lit up even though she tried to hide her surprise. The entire chamber was made of crystal-like stalactites and stalagmites, their beauty surpassing all others she had seen. It was definitely extraordinary and something worth admiring. In the middle of the chamber was a gigantic pool, with surface water constantly dripping into the cold freezing pool. The pool itself was approximately eight times larger and deeper than an Olympic pool from the Ningenkai. Having forgotten about her mission Mikazuki took a few steps forward and stroked the water's surface with the tips of her fingers, feeling the icy chill. She took a quick glance back at her companions before suddenly tearing into water and disappearing altogether under the surface. When she resurfaced three minutes later, she jumped out and onto dry land, once again absorbing the water into her body. "It's just as I suspected, I've been-" she started, cut off by a voice.

"I see you've all gathered here," the speaker said, stating the obvious.

"Sir," the seven comrades addressed their leader in unison, supplemented with a polite bow. 

The tall, dark framed man slowly walked towards Mikazuki, placing a broad hand over her head and stroked her gently. "You've never disappointed me and I hope you never will." He chuckled and stepped away from her, walking in the direction of the others. "I want you all to guard this place, make sure no one enters this place!" His voice was suddenly strong and commanding. "When the moon is full thrice, the ice will melt. The waters will find their way, chosen by the gleam of moon. Once mastered, it then will vanish!" He recited in triumph before relaxing once again. Whipping around, he walked up to the silent youkai, standing by the pool. "You've finally earned this Mikazuki." The man brought out a small box from his cloak and opened it in front of her. It was a simple gold ear ring: a symbol of the elite. Carefully taking it out of the box, Mikazuki smiled and fastened it onto the edge of her left furry ear, puncturing a hole through the skin. To her it didn't hurt the slightest bit, but that was because she had survived much harsher wounds and danger. If one were to whimper at a small puncture through the skin, they weren't worth anything in Makai. Come to think of it, Hiketsu had complained how much it hurt when he got his ear pierced… Dismissing the thought, she thanked her leader sincerely. 

Light suddenly flooded into the chamber, moon rays reflecting off the water's surface. It was an amazing sight; one Mikazuki couldn't keep her eyes off. _It's so beautiful… Without her even realising it, she was taking steps into the crystal clear water which was already up to her knees and continually rising. Her comrades watched her, some in amusement, and others in silence. When the water was up to her waist, she halted and stretched her arms forward, palms facing up as if holding the moon rays in her hands. Slowly they flipped and lowered onto the surface. The rays covered her body like snow, making it a blinding white. It took only a split second for her to vanish under their watchful eyes; a split second for her to suddenly disappear._

~*~*~*~

Hurtling down the never-ending passage, Kurama and Yuusuke never ceased to take a deep breath. They just kept running as fast as their legs could carry them. "We're nearly there, I can sense it," Yuusuke murmured. Suddenly there was light, revealing the end of the passage. From here on, it was only a two minute dash. But why was there light? As they came closer and closer, Kurama sensed something else; something tugging his mind. 

"Be prepared Yuusuke," he cautioned. Yuusuke acknowledged it with a firm grunt.

As they ran into the chamber at the end of the passage, they were shocked, having seen the back of a figure standing in water at waist-height. There was a blinding flash… and then the figure was gone. 

~*~*~*~

**_A/N: _**_Yay, at last! Here's an extra long chapter for all you faithful fans out there. I'm sorry if it seems to be dragging a bit, but each chapter is sort of like an episode except it doesn't really work that well… Anyway for some reason I particularly like this chapter. Ooo… More bishie appearances starring Kurama! Perhaps Youko Kurama if we can catch him before he runs off…_


	14. We Meet, Fury Whirlpool

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_This chapter is a dedication to my faithful readers for coming so far into this story with me. Thanks Mizustarangel, xxx-Kuronue-xxx, my dear buddy Demon-princzess! I'm very grateful to you! And of course all my other readers out there . It's really exciting to open the review page and see how many reviews I get after I post it. Anyway, read on_

Chapter 14

We Meet, Fury Whirlpool

The red-haired youkai shielded his eyes with his arm as the light blared straight at him. He was frustrated, frustrated of having been a minute late. The light dimmed and soon it returned back to normal; a small crack in the roof of the chamber above the centre of the pool, allowing moonlight to flow naturally in. Almost immediately, Kurama lifted up an arm to block the attack aimed straight at him. He grunted as he slid backwards approximately two metres. Quickly he regained his guarding stance and from the back of his neck, pulled out a pure, red rose. During the motion of swinging it forward, the single rose turning into a deadly and thorny whip. It made a sound, 'crack'. He surveyed the area around him, his enemies had already surrounded him. Now Kurama and Yuusuke had to defend each others backs.

"We'll fight one on one. Tournament style," the dark red-haired man whom he had seen the night before uttered in a calm voice. His garments today were slightly different to the last nights or perhaps he just added another two layers of clothes on top. A wing spiky-haired youkai and a heavily cloaked character with a slender frame held their stance while everyone else dropped their guard and took a step back. The cloaked character peeled off several layers of clothing and threw it onto the damp ground, revealing long reddish brown hair and shining purple eyes and a womanly figure. Her fighting garments were very fancy indeed, with assorted colours and long bands flowing everywhere. Alike the others, she had a single gold earring and the top of her pointy ears. She smiled seductively at Kurama, obviously impressed by his charming looks. "This one's mine, Kokunai," she informed her comrade, her sweet voice matching her young appearance. "My name's Hakkiri. Let's get acquainted shall we?" Being the first to launch an attack, she flung her right hand at him and a creamy white strip of cloth from her sleeve flew right at him. Kurama dodged it as she controlled it to continuously follow him, the cloth constantly coming from her sleeve, growing longer and longer as if it were never-ending. Slashing it with his whip seemed useless as it proved to be as hard as steel. It was pretty amazing how she could direct it wherever she wanted it to go but Kurama didn't stop to admire it. He tried to aim his whip at her but she countered it with another strip of cloth from her left sleeve; this one was light pink in colour. Although Kurama had to admit that she was quite attractive one thought struck him, something he wanted to know badly. Just why weren't they fighting together?

Meanwhile Yuusuke was having slightly more luck than him, being able to score several punches on his blind opponent. But his opponent's sensitive ears often tracked his exact position thus he was able to strike Yuusuke with a small chance of missing. Here he would need a strategic plan to defeat his enemy.

Mikazuki glanced around calmly in the dark even though she had no idea where she was except that this place felt oddly familiar. There wasn't really anything around her well nothing she could physically see. But she felt her saturated hair and clothes and instantly knew that she had reached this place through some sort of waterway. There had been a trapdoor in the bottom of the pool so perhaps she fell through. She stepped out of the waist-height water and onto solid ground. It was rather rocky and had sharp edges sticking out, meaning that not many people had been here and although it was right beside a water source, it hadn't been worn away by flooding. At the moment all she could remember was gawping at the sparkling chamber and the water that kept reflecting millions and millions of different colours. It had somehow caught her into a trance and she then lost track of what happened after it. Gripping tightly onto the handle of her double bladed sword she stepped forward cautiously, knowing that something was lurking around. She felt tension running through her veins as if she were in an examination except failure was not an option. Her ears were perked upright and her body constantly alert. _How am I supposed to conquer this Fury Whirlpool if there isn't a whirlpool? Unless that name is just a title for something or someone. _Something caught her eye; it was a movement in the shadows, one that was barely visible. Right now she still felt calm for some peculiar reason. Her feet automatically slid into a fighting stance, her arms raised and ready. She could hear the soft padding of feet, two her left and right. There were two of them; shoeless and clawed. They were about five metres away, circling her like vultures waiting for a kill before they took their share but these two weren't vultures; they were beasts going _in _for the kill. In a way she pitied them. It must've been a long time since they'd eaten well since their breaths smelt of bugs but she wasn't going to be their dinner. It would be easier to put them out of their misery. With a quick slice along the stomach, the first beast fell soundlessly onto the ground. The second one died just as quickly, a gash leading from the head through to the chest. Without looking backwards she moved onwards, following her instincts. As she walked around a bend, she saw a faint light not too far away, only one or two stories up but that wasn't where she was heading. She made her way to a platform directly opposite to it, squeezing through rocks and crawling on her stomach half of the time. Often scraping her elbows against the protruding ledges and rocks, she continued on as if they never happened, determined to reach the end. Clambering up a hole swiftly, she neatly avoided smashing her head against the roof and peeked through the cracks to see what was on the other side. It was all sparkly like before, except this one was even more amazing. Mikazuki took a daring leap onto a ledge and jumped onto the top platform just as the ledge gave way. She knew it would, the ledge had been weathered down by wind coming from the opening.

The platform she was on led to another chamber, one with contents that were sparkling like diamonds, its beauty was indescribable. But if you had to describe it, about fifteen metres down from where Mikazuki stood was ice. It wasn't just any ice, but ice that spiralled as it descended in height, much like a slippery slide with spikes that stuck out from every angle. It seemed almost never-ending. Well she definitely couldn't see a bottom to it but it must've stopped somewhere. Suddenly she knew that this was the Fury Whirlpool: for it resembled the shape of a whirlpool, the spirals a whirlpool made. "This is the Fury Whirlpool." She stepped through the metre-high opening into the chamber and gazed at the Fury Whirlpool. It was simply enchanting. "So now what do I do?" she asked herself as she surveyed the chamber with inquisitive eyes. There were many ledges that lead higher up, but none that could lead her down. "Hm…" A passage from out of nowhere came to her mind; the one that her leader had read so many times today, over and over to himself, always laughing so giddily about. That made her wonder whether he was really their leader or just a fake replica. When she thought over it twice, she noticed a difference between him and their leader's usual cold demeanour. Their leader was more of a master than a real leader. He taught them to hunt, kill and survive whereas this one just got excited over power their master already had. Her eyebrows furrowed as she came into the realisation that the man with the exact same features as her leader was just a fake. Although why he was acting as their leader was still a mystery. But this wasn't exactly the time to be side-tracked. The young youkai recited that passage out loud, "When the moon is full thrice, the ice will melt. The waters will find their way, chosen by the gleam of moon. Once mastered, it then will vanish." The first part was easy. It simply meant that when the three moons in Makai became full, the pool's surface which was originally ice would melt. That would explain why the water was freezing cold, but the latter parts weren't that easy to decipher. "Waters? What waters? It doesn't make any sense. 'The waters will find their way?'" Defeated, she sat on the ledge and stared down at the frozen whirlpool. _Ice is water, steam is water and I can control water. _"Could it possibly mean a water elemental user? But how exactly will I find my way through… this?" The tone of her voice became rather thoughtful. Leaping onto her feet, she stretched her arm downwards at the Fury Whirlpool and launched a water attack on it; breaking on of the icy spikes off it. She stared at it, waiting for something to happen which never came. "Maybe not…"

Just then she felt a sudden fierce gush of wind blowing straight at her, causing her to fall off the ledge and down below. Automatically her legs fell back under her body, her arms stretched outwards and her tail wrapped back around her waist. Her body leaned to the left, hoping to land on the un-spiked part of the whirlpool. It was a dim chance, but not a dim chance for Mikazuki as she latched her right arm around a spike before she started sliding down the spiral. With her feet firmly planted on the ice, she stroked her hand down the cold spike. It was standing even taller than her. The ice was so cold that it let out a form of mist. Her investigation went further as she bent down and inspected the strangely smooth ice under her feet. She swiped the surface with the tip of her finger, wiping away some of the frost. Blinking once, twice, she looked closely at the patch of ice without frost. Almost immediately, her hands were working at wiping away the frost. There was something inside the ice.

"What are you doing you morons!" the leader demanded, his arms waving madly about in the air. "Kill them! Stop fighting one on one!" His face was twisted with disgust and his fists trembling with anger. He stomped up to the captain of the elite team and swung his fist at him, missing pitifully. Izure ignored him as the man with overgrown confidence continued to rampage around him. Unable to stand him, the defeated Hakkiri flogged him with her weapon until he could no longer stand.

"Stop imitating our leader!" she growled as she used her remaining energy to sit down. Kokunai and Hakkiri had been defeated after a thirty minute battle with the pair from the Reikai Tantei. It had ended up being an interesting battle, the two had lost by their weaknesses but they had definitely worn their opponents down. Kurama and Yuusuke caught their breaths while their next opponents stepped up to face them. The youkai's eyes held a tone of surprise and uncertainty.

"Hey Minamino Shuichi, haven't seen you in a while. Or should I say Kurama?" Hiketsu greeted cheerily, lifting his hand up to say 'hi'. Beside him was the blue-haired guy from the infirmary, his eyes as cold as ever. "Let me introduce, this is one of my closest buddies, Iryoku. He doesn't like strangers that much."

Yuusuke flashed Kurama and questioning look that said, 'do you know them?' But Kurama was suddenly feeling too angry to notice it. Although his expression was calm, Yuusuke could tell by his trembling fists that something wasn't right. "Where is she? Where did you take her?" he asked in a strong and subtly threatening tone. He knew that there was more to Mikazuki than she'd told him. The youkai had thought of the fact that she could possibly be something more than a human ever since that moment when he saw Kanari Hiketsu again.

"You mean Mika?" the taller man stopped and pondered for a second. "We didn't take her anywhere. She just disappeared all of a sudden. I really don't have a clue where she is." He shrugged, clueless.

"Tell me, is she a youkai?"

Hiketsu opened his mouth to speak and immediately closed it again, his hand reaching for his weapon. His eyes weren't on Kurama anymore; they were looking at the newcomers coming from the tunnel behind Kurama and Yuusuke. "Yuusuke, Kurama, are you guys ok?" it was Botan, with Hiei, Kuwabara and Genkai behind them. Even Yukina was with them. Yuusuke nodded and asked them how they managed to get here so quickly. Botan replied, explaining how Genkai and Yukina had found them and helped them.

"Urameshi, Kurama, take a break," Kuwabara muttered. "Hiei and I will take it from here." Just as he stepped forward, Kurama placed his arm out, motioning for him to stop.

His voice was calm again and his mind seemed slightly more relaxed. "It's ok Kuwabara, this is my battle." Not knowing what to say, Kuwabara stepped back as Hiei substituted Yuusuke.

Placing her hands on the surface, Mikazuki started melting the layers of ice within two metres of her. This procedure was going to burn a good amount of her energy but nevertheless she continued. Ten minutes later the last layer of ice melted and underneath was… more ice? She growled in frustration and nursed her sore arms. There was something strange about it the ice; it was even colder than the surface layers and it released a lot more mist-like gas. Something caught her eye. It was a small spike of ice sticking out of the water. It didn't melt with the water that was originally ice. Once again she worked on it again, the substance underneath catching much of her interest.

A short while later, she noticed the spikes of the object inside gradually spread out and the surface of it became a lot smoother. She ran her hands down one particular area where it supposedly made a shape as it had edges and a curved surface that resembled an eye. Gingerly tracing the grooves, she smiled for the thing reminded of the sculptures she made at school during one of the art lessons. The one she had made was a wolf, sleek and yet powerful looking. Noticing some dirt-like substance coating the curved surface, she sprayed it with water and suddenly it shone white. For a moment she was blinded by the brightness and all she could hear was the sound of the ice cracking around her. Mikazuki leapt off the breaking ice, skilfully reaching the platform with the opening. When she could see again; an amazing creature floated before her; made out of ice. It was a dragon with a slightly beak-like nuzzle and sharp, ragged teeth. Its eyes were pupil-less and had spikes sticking out of its head, reaching upwards. Mist surrounded its entire body, giving it a powerful and grand air. The dragon cast a glance at her, studying from head to toe.

"Tsukishiro Mikazuki," he uttered as if he were telling himself. Amazingly when he talked, his lips never moved once. "So you're the one they sent eh?" Uncertain of how to reply, she just stood in silence, her hand unconsciously placed over the handle of her weapon she had tied to her belt. "They are in need of me once again."

"They? Who's they?"

"You will find out in time." Suddenly his thoughtful mood changed and his eyes narrowed again. He seemed to be rather doubtful. "I will lend you a bit of my strength, if you survive this test that is."

"Test?" She reached for her weapon and unfolded it so that both blades were directly opposite each other. Leaning into her fighting stance she stared at the dragon, her eyes strong and determined.

The dragon stated, "Not that type of test." It gave it once last steady glance before flying straight at her forehead and somehow entering it. But she didn't have time to wonder how a dragon's head that was twice her size could enter her body, her body shone white and blue as pain streamed through her veins. Something had entered her body and was threatening to blow that small body apart. Her knees collapsed under her, her fingers and nails digging at the rocky surface, drawing blood onto her fingertips. Her entire body felt as if she had an ice-burn and her throat was on fire. Mikazuki felt like screaming but when she opened her mouth, not a single sound came out. She tried to extinguish the burning in her body with the water in it but no matter how much she tried, it only felt worse. Suddenly parts of her arms, shoulders, back, legs and neck felt as if she had been pierced by thousands of needles being pricked into her skin. Gravity was fighting against her; not allowing her to stand up. Even the winds were playing a game with her, blowing fiercely at her, threatening to push her off again and let her plummet into her own death below. Collapsing altogether, she fell face flat against the ground and drifted into what seemed like death. All around her was darkness, an omen of death. She looked up and saw a tunnel of light. Then she glanced downwards and saw an inferno. Was this heaven and hell? Scanning to her left, she noticed a new world, a different world and on her right was just darkness. The world on her right suggested reincarnation whereas the empty space on her right was the place for drifting souls without a place to go. Each place beckoned for her to come and yet she stood there, waiting patiently. It felt as if she was standing forever, however she made no indication of moving. She wasn't ready to die, there was much more out there waiting for her to do; to watch movies and go to theme parks with her new friends Emi and Shuichi. Shuichi… that name lingered in her mind, her lips curving upwards. No he wasn't Shuichi, he was Kurama. Youko Kurama. Surely Kurama had Shuichi's heart. Oh how she yearned to see him again. Her face felt like it was flushed. What did these feelings mean? Perhaps…? Kind of impossible though. No… nothing is impossible if you put the will to do it. "Nothing's impossible!" she screamed into the empty space before her, suddenly there was an echo; repeating that single phrase she had yelled. Without a warning, she started falling, falling down into… hell.

Her eyes flickered open, quickly analysing the problem. She was in her body again but this body was falling downwards. She came into the realisation that she must've been blown off the platform again. Cursed wind! Although her body was throbbing she took no notice of it and gripped her fists tightly. Somehow her weapon was in her hands. Not stopping to ask questions, she leaned to the right in order to get closer to the wall. She thrust her ice-covered blade into the rock and clung onto it with all her strength. Carefully she placed her feet on a small crevice just big enough for her to stick her toes into and transferred her weight on the rock. _I must remember to thank Iryoku for the gloves _when _I get out of here. _

'I see your determination wolf,' a voice in her mind said. It was the dragon's voice. It was still inside her.

"I'll show you that I'm worthy of your power! I'm going to survive!" she yelled. With her right hand, she formed a large round block of ice and dropped it down. There was a 'splash', meaning that there was water. It would be easier to descend rather than to climb all the way back up. Using her power to melt the ice around one of her blades, she tugged it out easily and fastened it onto her belt again. Her hands skilfully found their way in small tight spaces, her feet able to do the same. She made her way down carefully, reaching the bottom eventually. It was then that she realised how painful her bloodied fingers were and how tired she was. The water was fresh down there but there was only time to wash her wounds and get a quick drink before she had to leave. As she washed her fingers, she noticed a strange necklace hanging on her reflection in the water. She took the necklace off her own neck and investigated it. It had a plain gold chain and she could make out an oddly shaped pendant on it in the dark. Having hidden it in a pocket, she dried her hands and stood up. There was much to be done and not much time to do it in.

The youkai in human form called forth an attack and sent his sharp rose petals slashing at Hiketsu's body. The man was blocking them with his mighty sword, a friendly grin still on his face. Only two had managed to hit; grazing his cheek and arm. He ignored it and continued to fight, letting their weapons connect frequently. If he was hiding something from his enemy, he certainly wasn't showing it. Each move and stroke he did was thoughtful, as if they led to the next attack or parry. Kurama's mood had softened and was concentrating deeply on defeating his opponent. Nothing else mattered, not for now anyway. Something shone in the corner of his eye. It was the stalagmite made of ice. He feigned an attack with his rose whip once, and then twisted it stylishly making it knock a group of the stalagmite with one stroke. They flew in Hiketsu's direction. The man blocked them impressively but never saw one coming from above. Kurama had broken a single stalactite with a single rose. The large object crashed downwards, gashing Hiketsu's side deeply. He fell immediately. Blood gushed from his massive wound, flowing freely. He groaned as he tried to determine how badly injured he was. Once he saw it his head fell back immediately.

Noticing that his opponent was distracted, Hiei thrust his elbow forcefully into Iryoku's stomach. He crashed into the stalagmites, luckily they were much taller or else he could've been pierced through the head with the point of one of them. But his body had crashed against the solid objects, suffering a shock from the sudden hit. The blue-haired youth coughed up blood and slowly crawled onto his knees.

"I guess this is where we say good bye Iryoku," Hiketsu said with difficultly in between his laboured breaths. He chuckled softly on his back, wincing in pain at the movement. "Then again, I want to see whether we were successful. Is our little friend back yet?"

"Not yet," his dark-red haired companion replied as he supported him. "Sleep, it'll do you good." Obediently, Hiketsu closed his eyes with his head on Izure's coat.

Unable to stop sympathising him, Kurama reached into his pocket and produced a seed. He threw it to Izure and said, "It'll stop the blood." Izure smiled and thanked Kurama. So this is what the Youko Kurama became – a gentle creature with a gentle heart. Perhaps those seventeen years in Ningenkai did him good. It had made him less ruthless and cold unlike their last encounter when he was only nine.

Hiei watched as his opponent regained his stance and he too fell into his own. Unlike Kurama, he wasn't as soft. He didn't pity enemies nor did he distribute natural healing methods to them. All that mattered to him was the defeat of his opponents and the survival of the current opponent was according to his own abilities. He readjusted his grip on his katana and then rushed forward at Iryoku, attacking from below. Currently he had the upper hand ever since he had knocked Iryoku into the stalagmites. The guy's strength and ability had decreased. He was just waiting for the perfect time to launch his finishing blow and that was _now_. Bringing his sword upwards to slice his opponent, Hiei flashed a grin. But just before he was able to connect the tip of the blade with Iryoku's flesh, something countered his attack, hitting Hiei's katana out of range. He growled and looked up at the intruder. It was the silver-haired mute! Where did he come from? He had lifted up his hand, catching his blade in it. Iryoku smiled and stumbled next to Hiketsu and Izure. Their battles were over and this would be when the real game would start.

Mikazuki grinned at the sight of Kurama, glad to see him. She was thankful that she was wearing the mask or else he would see her slight blush. She glanced at Hiketsu, noticing his wound. He was smiling though, he must've had a good fight. Issuing a battle against Kurama, Mikazuki pointed at him with a bloodied finger and slowly slid into a fighting stance.

Kurama looked at the wolf-youkai as he lifted a finger and pointed at him. He noticed the torn clothes and scratched down his arms. Something must've happened after he disappeared. Could he have conquered the Fury Whirlpool? He confirmed it by the grin on his face. He must've, why else would he be so happy? His intuition told him that if he were to see Mikazuki again, he would have to defeat this opponent and this time the battle would last until one surrendered, could no longer fight or died. Hopefully the outcome wouldn't be the last reason. Gathering his whip once again in his hand, Kurama stood his ground and uttered, "This is a fight between us."

**_A/N: _**_Kurama ain't gonna be alone. Well I hope not. glomps Kurama-'kun'_

_Kurama: Um… hehe… .;; You planning to stop glomping me sometime soon? _

_CT: No_

_Kurama:waves some lollies over CT's head Fetch!_

_CT: arf arf _

_Cast: major sweatdrop_

_Back to business..._

_Maruken__ – I'll put your wish in somewhere. Maybe soon wink_

_Krystal__ – ff.n is absolutely free unless you want the extra stuff_

_Oh yeah, I'm also thinking about writing a little humorous side-fic starring Mika and Kurama. If I do, it's going to a pointless addition just for the sake of it. So should I? Will anyone read it because if no one will, I don't think I'll bother… _

_Anyways __I'm sure you can predict what happens in the next chapter as it is quite obvious. Mika and Kurama battle! I wonder who'll lose! Anyone wanna suggest? _

_Mikazuki: Ahh.. CT's on a high again! Help anyone? Now who gave her an overdose of sugar?!_


	15. Final Assault

**Solitary Mask**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N: _**_Here's another chappie. I just hope you guys don't feel that it's too rushed. I'll start on the side fic when I find some spare time. _

Chapter 15

Final Assault

Wind blew through a recently made opening into chamber, howling eerily. Soft moonlight splayed over the chamber floor, illuminating the splendent stalagmites. The entire Reikai Tantei watched as the masked enemy took two strides towards Kurama, a finger and pointing at him. A slight smirk boarded his face. Yuusuke glanced at Kurama, noticing the subtle tension as he tightened the grip on his rose whip and stated, "This is a fight between us. A fight to the death…" Without another word Kurama bolted, charging towards a fraction left of his enemy. His whip cracked against the doubled-bladed sword, once, twice, thrice. Their weapons met at their edges, slicing at each other. Just from this melee fight, he could determine his opponent's perseverance and energy. His enemy's weapon which he assumed to be only a few kilograms meant fast, swift movements in one stroke, the impact not being as strong, but this wasn't exactly the case. With two blades on one sword it meant that his opponent was skilled with controlling it or else it would be too risky to use in case he stabbed himself, having forgotten the other blade behind the handle. Again, their weapons clashed, seeming endless. Dodging to the left, Kurama managed to find a gap, thrusting his whip with great force at the undefended area. A second blade blocked the attack, knocking it off track. He grunted and continued launching attacks at him.

Mikazuki swung her sword, managing to redirect Kurama's whip in another direction. The whip immediately relaunched at her, even though they seemed to be pointless attacks, Mikazuki could see that his attacks held greater purpose but now was not exactly the right time to investigate it. Creating a fistful of ice shards in her empty hand, she kept her hands enclosed, waiting for the perfect time. He was about ten metres away from her; a good distance away, enough for it to be effective. She threw her arm forward, unleashing the razor sharp shards. Their course was straight-ahead, aimed for her opponent. Kurama dodged left just as they reached him, but something unpredictable happened; the shards exploded into mist, fogging up the air around him. Stroking her blade upwards at Kurama's position, she sliced through the air. Kurama had disappeared! Her left ear pivoted upwards while her right rotated constantly, listening for sounds. The wolf-youkai paused before leaping sideways just as the thorny whip landed where she formerly stood. She made several back flips and regained her stance as the mist dispersed. Kurama's silhouette appeared; his build distinctively different to before. He'd transformed into Youko Kurama although how she didn't have the faintest clue. Well however he transformed, it definitely wasn't because of her mist. His golden eyes shone coolly at her; his silvery hair radiating while his lips formed into a grin. Oh how she craved to brush her hands through his silky hair, a contrast to her own soft, fluffy hair. He had a subtle muscular upper body every man would long for; looking neither too strongly packed nor the least bit scrawny. The rose whip wrapped around his arm like a vine and clung onto his waist. Biting on her lower lip, Mikazuki breathed out, falling into a stance. Her head was hammering and her ears hurting as if a high pitched note had just been blasted into them. Beads of sweat glistened on her cheeks and neck. Something was wrong; she felt as if she would lose control of her body and consciousness within an instance. She pulled at her cloak which hung in folds around her neck, allowing air in. Her hand brushed against the sweat covered chain she had tucked inside her shirt. Whatever it was, it could prove to be disastrous if it ended up in the wrong hands. The only difficulty would be handing it to Kurama.

Water dripped from the crack, landing into the pool. 'Drip, drip, drip.' Suddenly an idea formed in her mind; this would be the only way without the others knowing about it. Exerting energy into her arms, she forced the water out of her arm; through her skin and materialise into a blade of ice, the length of her entire arm on her lower left arm, ripping through the arm guard. She breathed heavily, her right arm gripping steadily onto her weapon. Quickly she dashed forward, her eyes kept on him.

His eyes shone subtly with admiration as a blade shaped like a shark fin formed on his lower arm. Kurama watched as he darted at him, revealing faint signs of desperation. Perhaps this was his limit, perhaps this was going to be a final attack. He raised an arm as his opponent covered the distance between them. The two-bladed sword flew at him; changed the shape alike a boomerang. He tilted his head as it flew past his cheek. This was such a disappointment. The kistune dodged the ice blade dropped, swinging a leg under his foe. The wolf-youkai flipped onto his hands; his blade barely slicing through Kurama's white robe-like garments. 'Swoosh' the two-bladed sword came flying past him again, brushing past his arm perilously close. It produced a thin red line. Without warning, water splashed onto his body, soaking his arms and chest. The water was freezing cold. Glancing up, he noticed that the wolf-youkai's blade had vanished; it must've been the ice from the blade on his arm. Suddenly, he felt his arms stiffen and numb. He growled as he realised what was happening. That youkai was freezing the water rapidly, restricting his movements. The enemy advanced swiftly, shoving a fist into his stomach. Sliding backwards a fair distance, he felt the firm ground under him disappear, falling into the ice-cold water. His vine stealthily grabbed onto his opponent's ankle and dragged him in as well.

Pulling the chain off her neck, Mikazuki stuffed it in Kurama's pocket, and slid in front of him like a marine animal. His movements, unlike hers were restricted in the water and since no one knew the water better than her, she would be perfectly capable of giving it to him with him oblivious. Now to get him out of the water… if only he would stop sending punches everywhere. She dug her knee into his back as softly as she could without making it seem obvious. He flew out of the water, landing on his feet perfectly. His entire body was saturated; his clothes feeling much heavier than before. Leaping out of the water, Mikazuki felt content; her job was done and the rest would be over soon.

Iryoku watched as his comrade launched out of the water after Kurama. A smile ran across her face; water dripping down her body. Faint white and blue markings appeared on her neck and arms, growing more and more solid in colour in seconds. It was like a tattoo, only this wasn't visible before. He blinked disbelievingly several times and narrowed his eyebrows. Why were there markings? He knew that everyone else was thinking the exact same thing as they too were puzzled by it. She stepped forward, still wet. A high-pitched scream escaped her as she clutched her head as if in agony. Her whole body trembled. Kurama stood his ground, ready to defend himself if anything were to happen. Mikazuki's fingers raked at her head as she groaned. Pain was running through her veins. She was fighting something mentally although no one knew what. Falling silent, she stopped shaking and steadily stood up. Her body was in control again. Confidently she picked up her weapon that lay on the ground and inspected it. Once she was satisfied, she slid into a fighting stance. She flung ice shards at him with dead accuracy. Her blades seared through his skin. The atmosphere was totally different to it was before; it was as if the tip of her blade meant death.

A cackle echoed in the chamber; sound waves bouncing off the walls. Everyone except Mikazuki turned to the evil laugh, seeing the fake leader bursting into joy. His eyes gleamed and he clutched his stomach. "My brother has stupidly given me this chance! Now I control the most powerful youkai, it is only time until I can build my own clan and show the world that I'm not the useless fool everyone thinks I am!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Iryoku glanced at Mikazuki worriedly and back at him. His cool, calm demeanour had vanished, replaced by a perilous anger, seething inside him. "Release her or we'll lead you to your coffin!" he spat and brought his flute up to his lips.

"One note from you and you shall face your worst nightmare Iryoku. I know your abilities fairly well you know," the imitator stated, noting the anger on Mikazuki's companions. "Perhaps I should just get rid of you all, or else I may face more troubles in the future. Kill them all!" Mikazuki tossed her weapon aside and placed a supportive hand on her lower right arm, holding it just above her wrist. She held onto it tightly and focussed energy into her palm. Lifting her hand up she curled her fingers, her index and pointing finger stretched out the furthest like an eagles crooked talons, and shoved her arm forward. A flash of blue and white was followed by a vague outline of a massive dragon head with pupil-less eyes, a narrow muzzle and sharp spikes flying everywhere. Its body was faint blue and white; a mist forming around it as it pursued the enemy. It looked much like an illusion since it wasn't solid, but when it touched something it would pierce through it and whatever the mist landed on would freeze. It was a deadly sight. The Reikai Tantei dodged, narrowly avoiding the assault. The attack was much like a homing missile, chasing after each and everyone who could become its victim.

"Get out of here!" Kurama yelled at the top of his voice. He hurried everyone out of the tunnel; making sure that they had left before making a retreat. His foot was nearly in the tunnel when he looked backwards; noticing the struggle between his enemies as Iryoku and Hiketsu clung onto her. The dragon had also disappeared. His eyes scanned across to the other side of the chamber; to the man idiotically laughing at the chaos occurring. Running straight at him, Kurama took out another rose whip. His footsteps were light and in his free hand were two seeds. The whip missed him barely, scraping his skin as his enemy leapt away. "Hah! You're trying to sneak up on me eh?" Kurama flicked the seeds at him, hitting him on his wound. "What are you trying to do? Kill me with two little pebbles?"

Kurama looked at him smugly, a grin across his handsome face. "Think again." He gestured at the scratch with a finger a then clicked. Two vines sprung out, lengthening in seconds and wrapping themselves around his arm. "These vines feed on blood; they grow within seconds at my command. Release their companion or you can enjoy having these vines drench you dry of your blood."

The youkai's golden eyes were daring his enemy to refuse but as he could see, Kurama knew that he wouldn't for he was saturated in sweat and his breathing quickened. "Just take the earring off her! Let me live! I beg you, let me live!" he yelled. Without letting the man out of his sight, Kurama could hear the Kokudo struggle as they tried to unclip the single earring off their companion's wolf-ear.

It wasn't that simple for she was rebelling every second they had their hands on her. Iryoku fumbled on the clip as Hiketsu restrained her. When it was finally undone, Iryoku crushed it with his hand, letting the sprinkles of metal drop onto the ground. Mikazuki fell limp in Hiketsu's arm, seemingly unconscious. Lifting her up, the orange-haired man walked over to the water and gently let her sink into the water.

Mikazuki opened her eyes, feeling slightly dizzy. She glanced around and realised that she was underwater. The last thing she remembered was a voice in her head, yelling at her, ordering her. Looking up, she saw the moonlight shining through the crack and into the chamber. Her entire body felt lifeless as if she was on the very brink of death. It could take up to twenty-four hour lying in the pool to regenerate her energy again. She had over-exhausted herself like a car engine, except she had no idea how she had managed to use up so much energy. Suddenly, a pair of arms scooped her out of the water, much to her discomfort. "Iryoku?" she managed to mumble. The blue-haired teen held her closer to him and listened to her breathing. Glancing to the side she spotted Kurama in his youko form, looming over the man who was identical to her master. His body lay limp over the floor, blood soaking into his cloak. Something must've happened although she wasn't in the mood to find out why. Slowly Kurama walked away, coming towards her in a steady pace. She could feel his uncertainty behind his cool golden eyes. Her eyes fell onto the fallen man, his hands lay flat on the ground, his fingers facing the ceiling. It moved! Blinking several times, Mikazuki looked at his hands again; his nails had changed in a split second. They were over twenty centimetres long; dark purple in colour, a colour that often represented poison. With all her strength, she rolled to the side and sprung up, darting right at Kurama. His hands lifted up and turned at Kurama's direction. The wolf-youkai forced the kitsune aside just as the nails extended. They connected with her mask; five nails stuck in five different holes in the metal mask. Cracks formed down the face of the mask, splitting it into thousands of pieces.

Kurama gasped and grabbed onto Mikazuki as she tumbled forward; nearly crashing into the rough ground. He swung her body around and threw out a supportive arm behind her back. He brushed the bangs out of her face, checking for any wounds. Not at all did he seem surprised when he saw her face; he was merely concerned for her safety. Her eyes slowly opened and stared into his beautiful gold ones. "Youko Kurama?" she rubbed her hand against her forehead and blinked once, twice. Seeing him glance at the dead body behind him, Mikazuki groaned as she sat up, "He's dead. I struck the stalactite on the roof before I pushed you away. If the broken fragment of stalactite hadn't killed him at that exact second, I bet his nails would've gone through my mask and my head." She shuddered and automatically grabbed onto his arm for support. Again she was feeling dizzy. "I'm sorry I deceived you… Shui… Kurama."

The kitsune merely shook his head and smiled, "No, don't be. I'm really happy to be able to see you again." Mikazuki giggled and once again found herself drowned in his eyes.

"I know it's rude to stare, but I jut can't help myself from gazing into your eyes. They're so beautiful," she remarked, her hands brushing away those strands of hair that covered them. Kurama's face loosened, and his eyes wandered from her left cheek to her right cheek. "What is it? You're looking at me as if I've got dirt on my face."

Shaking his head, Kurama timidly placed his finger on her cheek, tracing a line of some sort. "I can't make out this; it's a picture of a dragon, very much like the one that appeared before. Also, the scar on your right cheek; it's gone." Mika frowned, and placed a finger on her cheek, accidentally wiping away the water on it. Kurama looked startled again. "The markings just vanished…"

"It vanished? How did it get there in the first place?" she asked no one in particular, slightly off in her own little world. Her eyes then landed on her arms; there were tattoo-like markings on her arm, one that resembled the body of a dragon; the body of the ice dragon. Its shape reminded her of the dragons from Japanese mythological drawings she'd learnt about it history; slender, wingless bodies that were graceful in their own form. She let the water soak through her skin and glanced at her arm again; the markings had disappeared. It was a possibility that these markings would appear when her skin came in contact with water. Her breathing laboured as her eyes slowly closed, her upper body leaning against his shoulder. Her hands slid beside her.

"Hey Mika, are you ok?" Kurama asked worriedly, immediately placing a hand against her flushing cheeks and sweaty forehead. Digging from inside his pockets, his hand touched something cold and solid. It was smooth and there were holes between this object. Nevertheless, he stuffed something into her mouth, forcing her to swallow it with a sudden tilt of the head. He placed two fingers on her pulse, feeling the steady rise and fall. She was merely asleep, over-exhausted from using too much energy.

Glancing at his companion, Hiketsu noticed the smile on Iryoku's face. "What's the matter? You jealous of the fox?" Hiketsu joked, nudging his blue-haired friend.

"Why should I be?" Iryoku asked coolly. "I'm just happy for my little sister."

"Little sister? Since when was she your little sister?" Hiketsu's expression was priceless; his mouth a gaping hole. "Didn't you find her in the woods?"

"Since the day I saw that scar again. Unlike Mikazuki, I'm not a wolf. I don't have the ability to transform into a wolf like her. Not one person in our blood line can transform into a wolf, only Mika can. Likewise, no one can transform into a falcon; the creature I am spiritually bonded to."

"How can this be? I've never heard of this before."

"We lived in the mountains, a secretive place. Never did we leave our home; it was forbidden, for exposure to the rest of Makai meant that our clan would be risking being discovered by enemies. But then, seventeen years ago the clan was destroyed, and only a few survived; me, Mika and several others. Our clan had been betrayed by someone in our own clan that consisted of over two thousand people. All those people could transform into their own unique creature and those people died on the same tragic day; eight months after my little sister was born. I was only three then and yet I still remember everything so clearly.

"Legions of demons had come that day; threatening us to hand over the 'dragon spirit' or the 'phoenix spirit'. We were confused; no one understood what they'd meant because there was no such person bonded to the dragon or the phoenix. Perhaps the elders knew but they never said anything and merely pretended ignorance." He paused, his blue eyes gazing at Mika's sleeping form.

"How did you escape?" Hiketsu prompted, waiting for Iryoku to continue.

"I didn't." There was another long pause, but from his blank expression, Hiketsu knew that he wasn't going to get anymore information from Iryoku. He scanned around the chamber, searching for the other elite members; they had long disappeared ever since Mikazuki had lost control of herself.

"Does anyone know about this? Does Mika know?"

"No. Only you, me and Izure." Iryoku looked at Kurama, knowing that he had clearly heard the conversation. "And him. This information can mean disaster to both Ningenkai and Makai, _kitsune_. I also know that you've grown considerably fond of the Ningenkai and the people there – beware. One more thing, watch her for me, I'll return shortly to collect her." The pair turned around, departing from the chambers.

"Wait! Why are you leaving her with me?" Kurama questioned.

"You like her don't you? You'll treat her well. Besides, she's too weak to stay in Makai – she's just a sitting target." Without another word, the two left; leaving through a different tunnel from the one they originally came from.

"Kurama!" Yuusuke shouted, running through into the chamber. "Are you ok? What happened?" Kurama had already changed back into his human form and was sitting on the floor, with the girl's head on his lap.

"Nothing," he murmured and gently lifted her up into his arms.

Dumbfounded, Yuusuke looked at him and at the youkai, unconscious in his arms. "Is that that guy you fought before?" he asked whilst scratching his head in confusion.

"She was in disguise, to hide… from me." He turned his green eyes away from Yuusuke and continued walking through the chamber, into the tunnel where the others were. There were so many questions in his mind at the moment, he didn't even know where to start thinking. How come Mikazuki was a youkai and what was her purpose in the Ningenkai. All these questions led back to the main question; who was Mikazuki and her brother and what did Iryoku mean when he said that the information could lead to disaster of both the Ningenkai and Makai? Perhaps the answers would be revealed to him shortly.

"So they just left her with you?" Kuwabara asked, showing as much confusion as Yuusuke had shown before. "Why would the enemy leave their own comrade with us?"

Botan muttered in reply, "Not us, just Kurama." She sipped her tea and readjusted her position. They had returned straight back to their own world after having fought against the Kokudo, receiving neither victory nor loss, and had gathered at Genkai's temple. "I think that it's a trap. They're just sending her over here, having us believe that she's harmless. Then she's going to strike at us when we're unaware."

Genkai sighed and rubbed her hands together. "That is a possibility, but what bothers me is why they would send someone we'll likely suspect." Slowly she turned to look at the girl sleeping in the next room. Her face was pale, her breathing sometimes fast and sometimes slow. She was still in her youkai form, meaning that it would be difficult to take her anywhere. "What do you think Kurama?"

The red-haired teen sighed, watching as Yukina wiped away the caked sweat on her forehead. For once in his lifetime, he didn't know what to think and say. The entire room was silent, waiting for him to speak. "I don't know." Suddenly he remembered the necklace he had found in his pocket when he was looking for some type of herb in his pocket and brought it out, placing it gently on the table. "I found this in my pocket earlier on and I suspect that she gave this to me." Everyone loomed in, looking at the piece of jewellery with much surprise. But then their faces reverted back to normal. Kuwabara laughed and said in a know-it-all tone, "It's just a necklace. It must be a present that somehow got mixed up in your pocket." All the eyes in the room were staring at him.

Genkai coughed purposely, regaining everyone's attention. "It's not just any piece of jewellery Kuwabara. Although I've never seen it before, I believe that it could possibly be some treasure; or perhaps _the_ treasure of the Fury Whirlpool."

"So what are we going to do about the girl?" Yuusuke asked nonchalantly.

"We'll keep her here for the while," Genkai murmured.

End of part one

**_A/N: _**_I just thought that I'd do it in parts of about 15 chapters – seems easier this way. I'm also going to make the chapters longer. _


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